Soldier's Heart: Novel-Ties Study Guide - Softcover

In spare, almost biblical prose, Gary Paulsen writes of the horrors of combat in a Civil War novella that puts a powerful, more contemporary spin on Stephen Crane's classic The Red Badge of Courage. Based on the life of a real boy, it tells the story of Charley Goddard, who lies his way into the Union Army at the age of 15. Charley has never been anyplace beyond Winona, Minnesota, and thinks war would be a great adventure. And it is--at first--as his regiment marches off through cheering crowds and pretty, flag-waving girls. But then comes the battle. Charley screams, "Make it stop now!" disbelieving that anything so horrible could be real. Paulsen is unsparing in the details of what actually happens on the battlefield: the living men suddenly blown into pieces, the agony and fear, the noise and terror, the stinking corpses. After many battles, Charley is wounded and sent home an old man before he is 20, his will to live destroyed by combat fatigue--leaving him with a "soldier's heart." Paulsen has received the Margaret A. Edwards Award, the ALAN Award, and several Newbery Honor awards for previous work, but this superb, small masterpiece transcends any of his earlier titles in its remarkable, memorable intensity and power. (Ages 12 to 15) --Patty Campbell

Praise for Soldier's Heart:

*"Paulsen's storytelling is so psychologically true that readers will feel they have lived through Charley's experiences."
--Publishers Weekly, starred

"The brevity, power, and deceptive simplicity of this novella again demonstrate why young adult readers greet Paulsen titles with unabashed enthusiasm."
--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

*"The nightmare of the Civil War comes to the page in this novel from Paulsen...based on the real-life experiences of a young enlistee."
--Kirkus Reviews, pointer

*"The novel's spare, simple language and vivid visual images of brutality and death on the battlefield make it accessible and memorable to young people."
--Booklist, starred