F
BRA
Young Samurai Series (age 10+)
by Chris Bradford
survival ... adventure ... action
Publisher comments: Shipwrecked on the shore of Japan, twelve-year-old Jack Fletcher is wounded and alone. His father and the entire crew have been slaughtered by ninja pirates. Jack’s last remaining possession is his father’s rudder, an invaluable book of maps and notes about the world’s uncharted oceans. Masamoto-sama, one of Japan’s greatest samurai, rescues Jack, adopts him, and sends him to samurai school, where Jack will be trained in the Way of the Warrior. Will it be enough to help Jack defeat Dragon Eye, the ruthless ninja who is intent on stealing the rudder at any cost?
title: Young Samurai: The Way of the Warrior
title: Young Samurai: The Way of the Sword
title: Young Samurai: The Way of the Dragon
F
FAR
A Girl Named Disaster (age 10+)
by Nancy Farmer
survival ... adventure
Publisher comments: Eleven-year-old Nhamo lives in a traditional village in Mozambique, where she doesn't quite fit in. When her family tries to force her into marrying a cruel man, she runs away to Zimbabwe, hoping to find the father she's never met. But what should have been a short boat trip across the border turns into a dangerous year-long adventure, and Nhamo must summon her innermost courage to ensure her survival.
F
ISA
Torn Thread (age 10+)
by Anne Isaacs
bigotry ... war ... survival ... historical
Publisher comments: Twelve-year-old Eva and her sister have been forced to leave their home in Poland and are imprisoned in a Nazi labor camp. There they must spin thread on treacherous machinery to make clothing and blankets for the German Army. As Eva struggles amid ever worsening dangers to save her life and that of her sick sister, readers witness how two teenagers strive to create home and family amidst inhumanity and chaos. Written in exquisite prose, this story of heartbreak and hope that is rich in detail and symbolism will deeply move readers of all ages.
F
GEO
The Talking Earth (age 10+)
by Jean Craighead George
adventure ... survival ... folklore ... nature
Billie Wind ventures out alone into the Florida Everglades to test the legends of her Indian ancestors and learns the importance of listening to the earth's vital messages.
F
SKU
Mysteries in Our National Parks Series (age 10+)
by Gloria Skurzynski
math/science/technology ... survival ... action ... nature ... mystery
In the first of these fast-paced adventures, the Landons trail a wounded wolf in Yellowstone National Park. The park is abuzz with rumors of a wolf attack. Meanwhile, a killer stalks the woods. Unaware of the danger, Jack and Ashley are more concerned about rebellious teenage foster child, Troy Haverson. From the opening moments at Old Faithful through 48 action-packed hours, the tension builds: What is lodged in the wolf's radio collar? And what is the meaning of the Native American story of Sin-a-Wavi? A heady mix of suspense, adventure, and moments of tenderness lure readers into this story of kids discovering the natural world.
title: Rage of Fire
title: Running Scared
F
DEF
The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (age 10+)
by Daniel Defoe
historical ... adventure ... survival
This classic story of a shipwrecked mariner on a deserted island is perhaps the greatest adventure in all of English literature. Fleeing from pirates, Robinson Crusoe is swept ashore in a storm possessing only a knife, a box of tobacco, a pipe-and the will to survive. His is the saga of a man alone: a man who overcomes self-pity and despair to reconstruct his life; who painstakingly teaches himself how to fashion a pot, bake bread, build a canoe; and who, after twenty-four agonizing years of solitude, discovers a human footprint in the sand... Consistently popular since its first publication in 1719, Daniel Defoe's story of human endurance in an exotic, faraway land exerts a timeless appeal.
F
DEF
Robinson Crusoe (age 10+)
by Daniel Defoe
historical ... adventure ... survival
This classic story of a shipwrecked mariner on a deserted island is perhaps the greatest adventure in all of English literature. Fleeing from pirates, Robinson Crusoe is swept ashore in a storm possessing only a knife, a box of tobacco, a pipe-and the will to survive. His is the saga of a man alone: a man who overcomes self-pity and despair to reconstruct his life; who painstakingly teaches himself how to fashion a pot, bake bread, build a canoe; and who, after twenty-four agonizing years of solitude, discovers a human footprint in the sand... Consistently popular since its first publication in 1719, Daniel Defoe's story of human endurance in an exotic, faraway land exerts a timeless appeal.
F
UCH
Journey to Topaz: a Story of the Japanese-American Evacuation (age 10+)
by Yoshiko Uchida
identity ... survival ... bigotry ... historical
After the Pearl Harbor attack, an eleven-year-old Japanese-American girl and her family are forced to go to an aliens camp in Utah.
F
PAU
Hatchet (age 10+)
by Gary Paulsen
growing up ... survival ... adventure
Thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson is on his way to visit his father when the single engine plane in which he is flying crashes. Suddenly, Brian finds himself alone in the Canadian wilderness with nothing but his clothing, a tattered windbreaker, and the hatchet his mother has given him as a present ¿ and the dreadful secret that has been tearing him apart ever since his parents' divorce. But now Brian has no time for anger, self-pity, or despair ¿ it will take all his know-how and determination, and more courage than he knew he possessed, to survive.
sequel: The River
sequel: Brian's Winter
F
VOI
Homecoming (age 10+)
by Cynthia Voigt
growing up ... survival ... family
In the first book of Cynthia Voigt's Tillerman cycle, the four Tillerman children, abandoned by their emotionally ill mother, undertake a difficult journey in search of a place to call home.
sequel: Dicey's Song
F
PAU
Tucket Adventures Series (age 10+)
by Gary Paulsen
historical ... adventure ... survival
In the first book, Mr. Tucket, Fourteen-year-old Francis Tucket is heading west on the Oregon Trail with his family by wagon train. When he receives a rifle for his birthday, he is thrilled that he is being treated like an adult. But Francis lags behind to practice shooting and is captured by Pawnees. It will take wild horses, hostile tribes, and a mysterious one-armed mountain man named Mr. Grimes to help Francis become the man who will be called Mr. Tucket.
title: Mr. Tucket
title: Call Me Francis Tucket
title: Tucket's Gold
title: Tucket's Home
F
O'D
Sarah Bishop (age 10+)
by Scott O'Dell
war ... survival ... family ... historical
Left alone after the deaths of her father and brother who take opposite sides in the War for Independence, and fleeing from the British who seek to arrest her, Sarah Bishop struggles to shape a new life for herself in the wilderness.
F
LEV
Journey to America (age 10+)
by Sonia Levitin
survival ... historical ... family
A Jewish family fleeing Nazi Germany in 1938 endures innumerable separations before they are once again united.
F
LAW
The Wreckers (age 10+)
by Iain Lawrence
survival ... adventure
In the first book of the High Seas Trilogy, a ship crashes upon the shore of the Isle of Skye. A 14-year-old survivor must continue to fight for his life against the wreckers--a coastal community of murderous people who pillage shipwrecked vessels to feed and cloth themselves and decorate their homes.
sequel: The Smugglers
F
LOW
Number the Stars (age 10+)
by Lois Lowry
survival ... bigotry ... friendship ... historical
In 1943, during the German occupation of Denmark, ten-year-old Annemarie learns how to be brave and courageous when she helps shelter her Jewish friend from the Nazis.
F
GIF
Nory Ryan's Song (age 10+)
by Patricia Reilly Giff
survival ... historical ... adventure
As the potato blight that leads to the Irish Famine takes its toll on her family, 12-year-old Nory Ryan must summon the courage and ingenuity to find food, to find hope, and to find a way to help her family survive.
sequel: Maggie's Door
sequel: Water Street
F
GEO
Julie of the Wolves (age 10+)
by Jean Craighead George
identity ... survival ... nature ... adventure
To her small Eskimo village, she is known as Miyax; to her friend in San Francisco, she is Julie. When her life in the village becomes dangerous, Miyax runs away, only to find herself lost in the Alaskan wilderness.
F
DUP
The Book of Ember Series (age 10+)
by Jeanne Duprau
survival ... action ... adventure ... fantasy ... science fiction
Publisher comments: Built as an underground refuge for the human race, the city of Ember begins to deteriorate as its lights start to flicker. When Lina finds part of an ancient message, she's sure it holds a secret that will save the city. She and her friend Doon must decipher the message before the lights go out on Ember forever.
title: The City of Ember
title: The People of Sparks
title: The Prophet of Yonwood
title: The Diamond of Darkhold

Fairmeadow Elementary School, Sat Aug 25 11:55:30 2012
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