| Does
anyone know what wild animal killed the most people last year, here in
the U.S.? [Take responses from your audience. Almost no-one guesses correctly—if
someone does—say just that—“Wow! Almost no-one gets that answer right!”]
It’s deer. Yes, that’s right.
Deer. Deer kill more people each year in the U.S. than any other wild animal.
Gary Paulsen will show you why:
The place is the parking lot
of a national park—you know the kind of place with fire pits and picnic
tables before you head up into the trails. [Read from pp. 54—56 beginning
with:] “It was early summer and a young buck—he had only a forked horn
still in velvet—had attached himself to a child and his mother”. [Continue
through the death of the child, ending with:] “…and finally the little
boy, still and so small, lying on a gravel pathway, not terribly far from
a sign that said Don’t Feed the Deer.”
Like many people, Gary Paulsen
had to learn to respect the wild the hard way—and it nearly killed him
more than once. Check out Guts: The True Stories Behind Hatchet and
the Brian Books for the real life stories—like this one—from the man who
doesn’t just tell adventure stories—he lives them. (by Kirsten
Edwards of King County Library System for Evergreen
Young Adult Book Award, 2003-2004.) |
