This would be a great lesson have the girls read I Am the Ice Worm by MaryAnn Easley and boys read Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. Have them compare and contrast the books.

I Am the Ice Worm by MaryAnn Easley (Boys Mill Press, 1998). This book is sort of a girls' version of Gary Paulsen's classic Hatchet. In both stories, a teenage character is stranded in the wilderness following a plane crash. In I Am the Ice Worm, 14-year-old Allison is rescued from the Alaskan wild by an Inupiat trapper, who takes her to his village to stay until she can be reunited with her mother. Allison's upbringing in an upper-class family in southern California certainly didn't prepare her for this icy adventure, but she turns out to have courage and adaptability that she didn't expect. Though Allison may initially seem too "girly" for boy readers, this novel has a great blend of adventure, wilderness and family matters that will captivate boys and girls alike.

MaryAnn Easley, author of several middle grade novels that include "I Am the Ice Worm," a Junior Library Guild Selection, "Belly Up" and "Dog Woman," is a certified master teacher with over 25 years experience. Teacher of the Year, she has appeared on radio and television and is the recipient of the Reading Association's Award of Excellence. A frequent speaker at schools and book clubs, she teaches creative writing to middle grade students as well as classes in literature at the university level.

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (Simon & Schuster, 2007). The story is about Brian, 13, and how he manages to survive 54 days in the Canadian wilderness after a plane crash. Brian was flying to visit his father when the pilot dies of a heart attack in mid-flight. Brian crash lands the plane into a small lake and swims out of the wreckage. He has his clothing, a tattered windbreaker and a hatchet (a gift from his mother). The novel takes us through Brian's days, how he learns patience through his experiences with failures and small successes: building a fire, fishing and hunting, making his shelter a safe one. He endures a porcupine attack, a tornado and being utterly alone for almost two months. This is a tale of adventure but, more importantly, it is a tale of character growth.

Gary Paulsen, is not one of those make-it-up-as-you-go-along kind of writers—Paulsen lived it. Paulsen describes the actual real-life events that he incorporated into Hatchet and the "Brian" books, giving young readers a keen insight to how a writer's personal experiences feed the narrative. He hoped Guts would answer some of the 250-400 letters a day he receives about the series. Hatchet is a series of 4 books.