Writing about the woods and the animals, Paulsen uses imagery, metaphors, similes, and alliteration to create vivid descriptions. Hawk, the banty hen, "launches herself like a speckled red missile" as she attacks across the yard. When Paulsen is canoeing a river, he describes it as a "flat, winding river that cuts through the woods like a sluggish snake." Even during the running of the Iditarod when survival is primary in his mind, Paulsen sees a peak covered with snow and "it is like a cathedral." Another time, the sparkle of the winter's ice and snow can be seen when he writes about "the diamond that is northern winter."

In Woodsong, Paulsen writes with an emotional intensity that is appropriate for what can be termed his vision quest or his spiritual searching for an understanding of nature. In addition, he uses a diverse pattern of sentence structures...