The Schernoff Discoveries was a great book! I especially liked Harold, because he had a solution for everything. To dating girls and bying a car under age, it was really funny as well. Each chapter gives you a lesson and thats what I liked the most. The reason why I gave a for stars because it kind of skiped a lot, sometimes I didn't even understand in some of the areas, but the main story line is easy to understand.

I feel that the book was one of my favorite books. I don't like to read but the book kept me reading no matter what was going on right next to me. The was an all around funny and entertaining book.

The book, "The Schernoff Discoveries" by Gary Paulsen was very funny! It tells of Harold, a 14-year-old genius and social outcast, and his friend. Harold has an answer to every problem, from dating, to sports like skiing and fishing, to dealing with school bullies or making money. Harold finds a way to poison the entire football team, get the girls and buy a car while underage. Read on to find out more of Harold's embarassing, yet hilarious stories.

The majority of Paulsen's books are fictional, but this one is autobiographical in nature. Readers are given the impression that Mr.Paulsen has been many places and has done many things that are not included in this book. This is just the "chapter" on the part of him that was captivated by the sea. His first introduction to the sea is on a troopship with his mother at age seven. He views the horrors of a plane crash and the shark attacks upon some of the survivors. Although this was an ugly experience, he is compelled to return to the sea years later. The majority of the book contains descriptions of his battles in his various boats with oceans, storms and winds. Many of these battles are admissions of his own inadequacy. He then undergoes a learning process each time, only to survive stronger and wiser. The experiences are well-written, with graphic details. Some of the language is quite specific to the sport of sailing and might require additional information to achieve a better understanding. This can be an enjoyable book, but may be limited in its apeal due to a topic of somewhat limited interest.

What a neat book!
I'd almost given up on Gary Paulsen autobiographical books after reading his motorcycle-themed book. But yes, Gary shows here he can write an engaging book about his past.
With a wry, understated sense of humor, he takes us through his experiences with boats -- from the first time he was entranced with the sea, to his future plans.
He tells stories of events that most authors would rather forget -- from his initial brash overconfidence, almost getting "taken" by a fast-talking boat salesperson, and how he came close to death several times through lack of knowledge and clues about sea conditions that would be obvious to experienced sailors.
This book is even interesting reading for adults who want to know more about Gary Paulsen.
The title has a nice twist to it -- Paulsen writes how the sea "caught" him in the sense of being his captivated by the sea, and how the sea several times "caught" him in the sense of almost killing him.

I like this book. It's a great book .If you like sailboats you will like this book. It's about Gary Paulsen on his sailboats. Gary Paulsen is a great writer. I recommend this book for you.

A good book but alittle out of my league, I'm more into suspence thrillers like "JAWS". I accually was reading this for a school project. This book has Gary Paulsen written all over it, although it was alittle differant from some of his other books (that I ended up reading) you can still reconize hie style. Reading this type of book for pretty much the first time, I enjoyed it. I did read "Hatchet" and "Brian's Winter" but I did'nt like them as much. The sequal to this book does sound interesting. I really liked the way
that Paulsen reffured to the main charactor as "The Boy" rather than some everyday name. With the content in this book I would not recomend it for readers under 13 years of age.

The book The Beet Fields is about Gary Paulsen's teenage years. Paulsen is famous for the books that he writes and for running the Iditarod, a 1200-mile race for Iditarod Alaska to Nome. His accomplishments in The Beet Fields are that he runs away from home at sixteen, works the fields with immigrants, and learns to support himself. The book focuses on people helping other people because they want to, not because they have to. The parts that seemed glossed over were why he left home, where his father was, and that the book just ends.
The book was easy to read and understand. Information is well organized and in order. The strongest aspect of the book was that a sixteen-year-old boy ran away from home and supported himself by doing odd jobs. The ending and beginning need to be improved because the end just ends and the beginning does not give you any background.
I gave four stars to the book because it is an incredible book, and has a lot of details. I would recommend the book to people who enjoy adventure, and suspense, because it takes you all over South Dakota. Paulsen is trying to tell us that there is more to people then we think, and that we should get to know people before we put them down. I think it is an important message because I get to know people first, like he dose in his books. Paulsen passes his message successfully through his books.

Gary Paulsen's latest installment in his collection of memoirs is a glimpse into his sixteenth summer, when he left his drunken parents to pursue life on his own. He takes work as a laborer in the beet fields, where he befriends Mexican workers and learns to hunt pigeons with his bare hands, and later does farm work, joins the crew of a traveling carnival, and learns about lust and love from an older, much more experienced woman.

While this isn't a book for younger readers, it will most definitely find an audience with teenagers who are familiar with Paulsen's writing and yearn to know more about his hardships and adventures when he was their age. Readers who enjoyed Hatchet and its sequels will find that the details of Brian's survival in the wilderness find an equally appealing match in the stories of Paulsen's own survival on the road in The Beet Fields.

First off I recommend to never read this book because it is very bland and boring to me at least, I really despise books that are slow moving and there is not much suspense and excitement!! Un fortunately I had to read this book, but I don't want you to have to go through the misery of reading this book so am trying to write you a good excuse not to read it.
1st part
This book takes place in a modern Eskimo settlement and it is about a boy who lives with his dad, and one day he has a feeling that something is amiss, so he goes to visit the wise old Eskimo called Oogruk. Oogruk tells the boy (Russel) about the old ways, and about the dogs, and about how everybody had a song. So Russel leaves with Oogruk's dogs and to see what it was like and to try to discover his song. This brings in the title of this book "Dogsong", and as you can guess Russel's song has to do with the dogs and his relationship with them. Later Russel moves in with Oogruk, and Oogruk thinks his time has come, so Russel and the dogs take Oogruk out to the ice and leaves him there to die.

2nd part
Oogruk tells Russel that to discover himself he needs to leave the village and just run with the dogs for a long time. So Russel leaves with Oogruk's dogs and every time he falls asleep Russel has this dream of when he is older, and all of the things that he will have to deal with. So this haunts him the whole time he is traveling. Along his journey he finds a pregnant woman-girl who is about to die from freezing, and he realizes that this is the woman in the dream, and that he has to save her so she doesn't die like the woman in the dream. At this time Russel also realizes that he has come to a point in life that joins with the dream. Now Russel has discovered himself and is ready to come face-to-face with life.

This is Russel's song:

Dogsong

Out before me
They go,
in the long line to sea.
Out they go.

Come, see my dogs.

They carry me
into all things, all things I will be;
all things that will come to me
will come my dogs.
I stand on the earth and I sing.

Come, see my dogs.

See them, see them
in the smoke of my life,
in the eyes of my children,
in the sound of my feet,
in the dance of my words.
I stand on earth and I sing.

Come, see my dogs.

My dogs are what lead me,
they are what move me.
See my dogs in the steam,
in the steam of life.
They are me.

Come, see my dogs.

I was nothing before them,
no man and no wife.
Without them, no life,
no girl-woman breathing
no song.

Come, see my dogs.

With them I ran,
ran north to the sea.
I stand by the sea and I sing.
I sing of my huts
and of Oogruk.

Come, see my dogs.

Out before me they go.
Out before me they curve
in the long line out
before me
they go, I go, we go. They are me.

This song means a lot to Russel because not many people had songs when he was living. It is sort of his self-identity.

Title: Dogsong
Author: Gary Paulsen
Genre: Adventure

The main character of the book is Russel Susskit a young boy about 14 who lives in a small village. Russel is having a problem and so he goes to see an old Eskimo that lives in his village, the Eskimo teaches him of the old ways and gives him a dog team and sled when Oogruk dies Russel leaves his home to live the old way but during his journey he finds a pregnant woman almost dead and has to get her to a hospital but is running out of food.

Russel: the main character that is on a journey to find his own song.
Oogruk: an old and wise Eskimo who teaches Russel of the old ways.
Nancy: creates a problem that Russel has to solve.

The motivations of the characters are for Russel to find his own song and to live the old way Oogruk's is to teach Russel of the old ways and Nancy's is to get to a hospital so she can give birth to her baby.

The weaknesses of this book are its lack of elaboration and the end leaves you hanging. The strengths of this book are its adventure and always making you think what's next.

Gary Paulsen has wrote so many great, interesting books and this book, "Dogsong", just adds to the collection. This is a story of a boy named Russel Suskitt that is an eskimo who wants to find his inner-self and get away from his normal, boring way of life. Russel goes and speaks to a elder man, but very clever, named Oogruk. He tells Russel about the way life was when men made their living and how they made personal songs of life. Oogruk teaches him how to hunt, how to find his inner-self, and to make his own song of life. So Russel decides to make his own song of life by going on an adventure that would risk his life. Russel gathers some dogs and gets a dogsled together and starts out for the biggest adventure of his life. Along the way he has to sled through mountains, icy terrains, and even rivers. He also met up with a polar bear. In addition, during his trip he also helped rescue an eskimo woman that was pregnant. Oogruk's teaching came to use when Russel had to hunt for his food out in the wild. Russel had a great time on this adventure being away from the village and finding his inner-self. He also built a friendship with the dogs that was very important for this young man out in the great wild. This adventure helped Russel find his inner-self and make his own song of life.

This book is very exciting filled with adventure, hunting, and tips for being in the wilderness. I enjoyed this book alot and gave it four out of five stars. If you are someone who does not like adventure and reading about the great outdoors then this book is not for you. I do really recommend it to anyone that likes adventure and reading about the wilderness.

This is an unusual book--definitely not a novel, for the plot is non-existant. The storyline alternates among 4 teenagers and 3 veterans of different wars--none of whom meet each other. According to the Summary, there is a theme which provides commonality/literary glue (see Heading) but even that is somewhat obscure. The chapters are short and read quickly. Master story-teller Paulsen held my interest because I kept waiting for the four protagonists to interact and solve the world's problems--or at least their own.

But it was not to be, which lead to my frustration and disappointment. If he just wanted to write good short stories, he could have rearranged them, so that readers would realize when the end had been reached about a specific young adult. Nor did I notice any thread of nuclear disaster, as proclaimed on the back of the book. I found human vulnerability and dignity, as these young people sought meaning and direction in their lives. All four pursued th! eir goals differently, but it was unfortuate that they never knew of each other's dilemmas, so they could learn from each other's experience. A sad commentary on the social isolation of the teen years. Knowing the heights to expect from Paulsen, I felt cheated.

Have you ever thought about something in life, and wanted it to happen, then later on, thought it would be best, if it didn't? Well, four teenagers: a native American girl, an illegal Mexican immigrant, a sheep-herder's daughter and a gifted rock musician try to cope with the challenges of life, in the USA. They figure out that the life they wanted, or had, should change. I didn't really like this story. I found it confusing in ways. I think that Paulsen should have stuck with one dynamic character, and dealt with all of his or her conflicts. Then, do the next character's story. But the book was good in ways. It showed me that life isn't what you think it is. The character that I liked the best was probably Sue, the Native American girl that never really loved her grandfather until she found out how lucky she was to have him. Later, she learned to love him, and the stories that he told.

I am a junior high school teacher in Japan.I found this wonderful book in the school library.Everybody will be amazed by the construction of this book.But the more important thing is the vivid description of the heart of the youth.I love the story of Sue and the story of Lola especially. An Indian girl,Sue,met an Indian boy.And she woke up her self-knowledgement as an Indian.It was described through the changing of the way which she viewed her grandfather.I want to listen to him singing stories about animals,the wind,moon and seasons. The story of Lola,an only child in a sheep ranch,is also impressive .I can imagine the smell of the birth of sheep when reading this stoty.The connection between Lola and her parents through the common work of keeping sheep,was certainly described. The stories of three youths in the battle field are realistic because the auther heard them from the real soldiers from that time.I have been trying to tell the students about the misery of the war,so that the stories of young soldiers are impressive. I read Gary Paulsen's other book"TRACKERS".In this book the boy's changing heart about death was also described vividly. Peter Paulsen said that he wrote these books for youths but they touched on my heart as well although I am 55 years old.I think Gary Paulsen is a wonderful writer who can describe the heart of youths and Mother Nature vividly.

Dancing Carl is a book about two boys who meet a mysterious man named Carl. They live in a small town, McKinley, Minnesota, that revolves around winter. They have a gravel pit that they flood and freeze. After it is frozen, they divide it into smaller arenas for hockey, kids skating, music skating, and freestyle. Carl takes over Stan Johnson's job of deciding when to flood the gravel. He takes over the warming house, along with the rinks. He also has a strange power that he uses to solve many problems and also has the ability to skate on the ice in sneakers. Willy and Marsh think there's more to Carl than just the insane, drunk, depressed bum that the townspeople see so they decide to check it out for themselves.

I think this book was a good book. Although it is dull in some places, it gets interesting in the end. Usually, the plot jumps around at the end of chapters but it stays still in the end. First you have to understand that Carl is thought as insane and some of the townspeople aren't exactly glad for him to live in the warming house. " 'I guess he's been doing some pretty weird stuff. Dancing or moving or something. And he's taken over the rinks like it was his town or something...' "

Willy and Marsh find out about Carl, about his life and his power. If Marsh had not brought the B-17, an army fighter jet, model then Carl wouldn't have gone over the edge. He truly goes insane and, using his power, reenacts what had happened in his past. Willy and Marsh see why Carl has all the beat-up army gear and why he is all washed up. If it weren't for Helen, Carl may have been really gone mental.

Helen appeared one day in a Russian square hat and the same type clothing as Carl's flight jacket. This is my favorite part in which Carl performs several dances dedicated to Helen on the ice rink, with the entire town watching. I don't like the end, though, when Marsh learns that Carl and Helen move and suffer from many problems. "And I heard many things still later. I heard that Carl went crazy and should have been put it the state hospital and I heard that Helen had some part of her brain hurt many years before and I heard they moved into a house together and shared government checks. I heard they couldn't be married because of something in Carl's life and I heard even later that Carl died of drink and Helen had to go to a special home to live and all of this happened in some other town they moved to and none of it, not one single thing of what I heard, makes any difference at all."

I love Gary Paulsen! This book is such a sweet and sad story. I think this is one of his best books ever.

A friend of mine, I'll call him Carl, SR, gave me this book to read. He said to me, "it's about the dance man, the dance...." So I read it. It is about more than just the dance. It is about love, deception, revenge....all centered around this guy, Dancing Carl.

If you like the book "Dancing Carl" you may also like "Bedtime for BoBo", "The Tird Burglar", "What Color is Your Boxers", and "Scott M's Dance Tutorial".