Children's Survival Books

[Jimbo]

I'd be interested in knowing what people here think of the following:
"Hatchet" Gary Paulsen
"The River" Gary Paulsen
You should be able to find these in a public or your local school library.

Hatchet is the story of a boy who is being flown by small plane to visit his father. When the pilot has a heart attack and the plane crashes he is left in the wilderness with only a belt hatchet that his mother had given him for camping.
The River is the sequel where the boy and a psychologist go into the bush to examine why the boy was able to survive when most people fail.

Gary Paulsen is a children's writer who has the "credentials" to write of the outdoors.
http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/paulsen.htm
http://www.randomhouse.com/features/garypaulsen/index.html


"My Side of the Mountain" Jean Craighead George.
Story of a boy who goes off to live on his great grandfather's farm which has returned to nature.
"The Talking Earth" Jean Craighead George.
Story of a girl who is sent out into the everglades.

Again the author certainly has the credentials.
http://www.jeancraigheadgeorge.com/

Thanks,

Jimbo

 

[Greg Davenport]

Hatchet is an excellent book. The sixth graders at our local school read it and do a book report on it every year. As part of the process... they are bused out to my training site and I do an "in kind (free)" 1/2 day of demonstrations on some of the techniques used in the book. I also give the kids a chance to do some hands on.

I had never read the book until three years ago when the school approached me. It is a good text that even adults will find entertaining.

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Greg Davenport
http://www.ssurvival.com
Are You Ready For The Challenge?
Are You Ready To Learn The Art Of Wilderness Survival?

 

[8BaLL]

Hatchet is a great book. The River is allright but not as good as Hatchet. My Side of the Mountain is also a very very good book. There is a sequel to it. It is called The Far Side of the Mountain. It is an ok book. I recommend any of them though as they are all good just some not as good as the others.