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Tod Olson | The Children’s Book Review | January 29, 2018
There’s nothing like a good survival story: The conflict is clear, the stakes are as high as they get, and you know exactly what you’re rooting for. Kids know all of this instinctively, which is why there are tens of millions of I Survived books in print and everyone has read Hatchet by the time they leave 8th grade.
When I was 11, an adult survival story turned me onto nonfiction, and I think every kid’s reading level rises when the material is gripping enough. In that spirit, here are five classic nonfiction survival tales written for adults—to be read and passed on to young readers with a taste for adventure.
Written by Piers Paul Read
An Uruguayan rugby team is pushed into extreme culinary choices after a plane crash strands them in the Andes Mountains. This was my introduction to survival stories, and I didn’t leave my chair until I turned the last page. I tell the story when I visit schools, and the grisly details only seem to draw kids in.
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Publisher: Harper Perennial | 2005 (Reprint) | ISBN-13: 978-0060778668
Written by Nathaniel Philbrick
In the 1820s, a whaleship is rammed by one of its prey in mid-ocean. Its crew, set adrift in three 20-foot whaleboats, endures all kinds of hardship trying to make it back to shore. There’s a YA edition that focuses on a teenage crew member and cuts back on some of the great context about whaling, but the adult version is riveting. And yes, they eat each other in this one too.
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Publisher: Penguin Books| 2015 (Reprint) | ISBN-13: 978-0143126812
Written by Joe Simpson
This is the lean, fast-moving, jaw-dropping story of one climber’s ordeal on a snow-bound mountain (the Andes again). It’s a tale of almost inhuman endurance and an exploration of the absurd ethical dilemmas that arise on a mountainside at 20,000 feet. Most of all, it’s impossible to put down. There’s also a great film built around interviews and a recreation of the climb.
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Publisher: Harper Perennial | 2004 (Revised) | ISBN-13: 978-0060730550
Jon Krakauer
A freak snowstorm and a critical mass of amateur climbers conspire to strand dozens of people near the top of Everest. A heartbreaking story and plenty of fodder for debate about our responsibility to each other in extreme circumstances.
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Publisher: Harper Perennial | 2004 (Revised) | ISBN-13: 978-0060730550
Written by Steven Callahan
One man is stranded at sea for 11 weeks on an inflatable raft. Callahan was a trained engineer, and it’s fascinating to watch him jury rig the tools of his survival. He’s also eloquent about the emotional content of his ordeal. “There is a magnificent intensity in life that comes when we are not in control but are only reacting, living, surviving,” he says. And plenty of vicarious intensity for those of us who prefer just to read about it.
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Publisher: Mariner Books | October 17, 2002 | ISBN-13: 978-0618257324
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About Tod Olson
Tod Olson is the author of the historical fiction series How to Get Rich and the four books in the Lost series—Lost in the Pacific, 1942; Lost in Outer Space; Lost in the Amazon; and Lost in the Antarctic. He has written for national magazines on the Columbine school shooting, homeless teens, the murder of Matthew Shepard, and many other stories of interest to children and young adults. Tod holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and lives in Vermont with his family, his mountain bike, and his electric reclining chair. To learn more, and to download free teaching resources, visit his website: todolson.com.
Written by Tod Olson
Publisher’s Synopsis: There wasn’t a thing Ernest Shackleton could do. He stood on the ice-bound Weddell Sea, watching the giant blocks of frozen saltwater squeeze his ship to death. The ship’s name seemed ironic now: the Endurance. But she had lasted nine months in this condition, stuck on the ice in the frigid Antarctic winter. So had Shackleton and his crew of 28 men, trying to become the first expedition ever to cross the entire continent.
Now, in October 1915, as he watched his ship break into pieces, Shackleton gave up on that goal. He ordered his men to abandon ship. From here on, their new goal would be to focus on only one thing: survival.
Filled with incredible photographs that survived the doomed voyage of the Endurance, Lost in the Antarctic retells one of the greatest adventure and exploration stories of all time.
Ages 8-12 | Publisher: Scholastic Inc. | January 1, 2019 | ISBN-13: 978-1338207347
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Tod Olson, author of Lost in the Antarctic: The Doomed Voyage of the Endurance, curated the book list 5 Gripping Survival Stories to Be Read and Passed on to Young Readers. Discover more articles on The Children’s Book Review tagged with Survival.