Brian's Winter

Part 1, Chapters 1-3

Reading Check

1. 68 days (Chapter 1)

2. His “war bow” (Chapter 3)

Short Answer

1. The firing pin on the rifle breaks, and Brian cannot repair it. (Chapter 1)

2. Brian believes that the bears will leave him alone if he leaves them alone, but one night a bear comes into his camp and ransacks it, wounding Brian in the process. (Chapter 2)

3. He feels that the arrow is lucky for him because he shoots two animals with it in quick succession. (Chapter 3)

Part 1, Chapters 4-7

Reading Check

1. Flint (Chapter 4)

2. Betty (Chapter 6)

Short Answer

1. He realizes that cold weather is on the way, and he is trying to prepare by making a hole so that he can have a fire inside his shelter and the smoke will have a way to get out. (Chapter 4)

2. The skunk seems to be about to spray Brian, but when Brian feeds it a piece of meat, it changes its mind and goes off without bothering him. (Chapter 5)

3. A bear is drawn to Brian’s camp by the smell of venison, and it attacks Brian. Before it can harm him further, Betty sprays the bear, and it runs off. (Chapter 7)

Part 1, Chapters 8-10

Reading Check

1. Deer hide (Chapter 8)

2. The moose’s head (Chapter 10)

Short Answer

1. It will be easier because the animals all leave tracks in the snow. (Chapter 8)

2. A moose attacked him during the summer before the story begins. (Chapter 9)

3. Because the moose weighs about 700 pounds, Brian decides he will have to butcher it where it fell and bring the meat back to his camp in several trips. (Chapter 10)

Part 2, Chapters 11-13

Reading Check

1. Under the snow (Chapter 11)

2. Thanksgiving (Chapter 12)

Short Answer

1. He does not know how to keep the leather soft, and so the parka and mittens he makes are very stiff. (Chapter 11)

2. The trees are freezing and exploding. (Chapter 13)

3. Brian realizes that the woods in winter are very different from in summer, and he decides that he will need to study them all over again to understand them in winter. (Chapter 13)

Part 2, Chapters 14-15

Reading Check

1. Rabbit (Chapter 14)

2. Deer (Chapter 15)

Short Answer

1. Instead of panicking, Brian thinks about how animals move through the snow. He makes a prototype and then refines it by testing and adjusting. This shows that he is calm and clever and works hard to get things right. (Chapter 14)

2. After killing the moose, Brian sees how much meat he can get from killing a single larger animal and only wants to hunt for larger game. (Chapter 15)

3. Brian misses summer, but in some ways he finds surviving in winter easier, and he decides that he might actually like winter better. (Chapter 15)

Part 1, Chapter 16-Epilogue

Reading Check

1. A gunshot (Chapter 16)

2. Smoke (Chapter 17)

Short Answer

1. Brian realizes that just like him, the wolves must kill in order to survive, but he is upset by the suffering their form of hunting and eating inflicts on their prey. (Chapter 16)

2. He finds a log shelter and meets the Indigenous American man who is living there. (Chapter 17)

3. David reassures Brian that the woods will be there for him when he is ready to come back. (Epilogue)