The Haymeadow

Gary Paulsen

Jul 2000 · Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Richard Thomas

About this audiobook

Fourteen-year-old John Barron is asked, like his father and grandfather before him, to spend the summer taking care of their sheep in the haymeadow. Six thousand sheep. John will be alone, except for two horses, four dogs, and all those sheep.



John doesn't feel up to the task, but he hopes that if he can accomplish it, he will finally please his father. But John finds that the adage "things just to sheep" is true when the river floods, coyotes attack, and one dog's feet get cut. Through it all he must rely on his own resourcefulness, ingenuity, and talents to survive this summer in the haymeadow.

About the author

Gary Paulsen is a three-time Newbery Honor winner. Among his best-known titles are Brian's Winter and Soldier's Heart. This novel is based on his own life. The author divides his time between a ranch in New Mexico and his boat on the Pacific Ocean.