Dogsong

by Gary Paulsen

Book Overview

A Newbery Honor Book An ALA Best Book for Young Adults and Notable Book A teen boy wants to trade in the noise of his contemporary world for the song of nature and the old ways in this poignant young adult adventure. Something is bothering Russel Susskit. He hates waking up to the sound of his father's coughing, the smell of diesel oil, the noise of snow machines starting up. Only Oogruk, the shaman who owns the last team of dogs in the village, understands...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1416939628
• ISBN13: 9781416939627
• Release Date: May 2007
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.32 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.7" x 7.2"
• Age Range: 10 to 14 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 9

Customer Reviews

Excellent story about a young boy reconnecting with old ways

Even though I am not a young Eskimo boy like the one from the story, the ache he feels to reconnect with nature and history is incredibly relatable. Don't we all sometimes wish we could just up and go back to living life in the natural world, without all the mass produced products and constant lit screens? For him, it isn't just going back to nature, it's a revival of his culture that has been fading away with every technological advancement. This is a great story for anyone who feels that sort of longing for tradition and nature.

A Realistic Story about a Modern-Day Eskimo Boy

This is a realistic story set in the far north, both in an Eskimo village, and in the wild tundra. The story is about an Eskimo boy who has a vague sense of discontent. His father recommends that he go visit with an old Eskimo man, who is steeped in the "old" ways. Russel, the boy, ends up living with the old Eskimo man, learning the old ways, and dropping out of school. No one seems to mind because he is still learning valuable things. Eventually, the old man goes out on the ice to die, but first tells Russel to head to the Far North for about one year, to "find himself." He is alone most of that time, but toward the end, meets up with an Eskimo girl, who he saves. The book implies that in the future, she will be his wife. This is a coming-of-age story dealing with a boy's feelings about becoming competent as a man, and having confidence in his own abilities. This author is well-aquainted with both modern and traditional Eskimo life, and really shows the reader both how it is now, and how it used to be. I am a teacher, and I recommend this book for anyone interested in Eskimo life, realistic stories of boy-against nature, or hunting and fishing activities. The boy's thoughts and feelings would make the book mostly of interest to age 12, to adult. Parts of this book reminded me of the book I read in 8th grade, back in the late 60's, entitled, "Nanook of the North," (now apparently out of print) except that Nanook was an adult, and this story is about a teenaged boy.

Excellent, but portrays harsh conditions

Dogsong is a Newberry Award winning novel about an Inuit boy who needs to discover his "song" or who he is. Russell lives in a small winter village and learns the old ways from Oogruk, a blind elder. Oogruk teaches Russell to hunt and to guide the dogs to travel. When it is Oogruk's time to stay on the ice, it is also Russell's time to take his journey and discover his song.Along the way, a dream is interwoven with Russell's life. Life includes a hunt as does the dream, and both versions include death. In the dream, it is the death of the hunter's family and his dogs; in the dream it is the premature baby of an Inuit girl. Although the story is beautiful and inspiring, I don't recommend it for a child who has a hard time hearing of the death of other children, no matter that most of the deaths were during the Stone Age. I read this out loud to my daughter and that night she awakened crying during the night. I had been unable to skim over the deaths of the children, but softened the blow for her by skimming over the dog deaths. This might be more appropriate for young teens than for pre-teens.

fantastic story

Dogsong was a fantastic story about a young eskamo boy who is searching for a song he can call his own. On this jorney he must battle the wind, snow, poler bears, and many others.

Boy takes journey to the top

Dogsong is about a teenage kid that goes on a journey. The story takes place somewhere between the middle and the top of Canada and is about survival. He goes on the journey, so he can finally be considerd an adult in his village. He learns how to hunt, and how to make use all of the animals he hunts. In this book, he meets a girl, who becomes his friend. I really liked this book because it makes you think about what it would be like if you were in this situation. I also liked it because it was very enjoyable to read. For some reason, it reminds me of Lassie. I think Dogsong is better though. I suggest you try reading it, it's great! In comparison to some other great books, Dogsong is as good as the Harry Potter books. I think Dogsong is not as good as The Giver, but much better than The Time Machine. So I really liked this book, and I don't know about anybody else that doesn't like it, or has read it. Once again, I am asking that you at least try Dogsong out if you have not read it at all. Also, if you haven't tried out any other of the books I compared Dogsong with, you should try them to.

An amazing story of a 13 year old boy who finds his song.

I think this was one of Gary Paulsen's best books. Although I love all of Paulsen's work, I especially enjoyed this one because of its great detail and obvious research. This is a great tale of a boy who does not understand the modern world and longs for the times when everyone had a song of their own. I will never, ever stop reading Mr. Paulsen's great tales of adventure and suspense. I just hope that more people can enjoy his writings.