One of the most popular types of stories for elementary age kids have always been survival stories. I think it may be because, as the reader, we are not only learning how to survive dangerous situations, but we also get the chance to consider if we could make it. There are a couple authors whose books really fall into the “Classic Survival Story” category. My number one go-to author for this type of literature is always Gary Paulsen. His Hatchet series has been fascinating kids for many years. Although most kids just ask for the Hatchet books, the true series name is Brian’s Saga. After reading Hatchet, you can continue with The River, Brian’s Winter, Brian’s Return, and Brian’s Hunt. Then, I would suggest reading Guts: The True Stories Behind Hatchet and the Brian Books. Paulsen’s The Voyage of the Frog is also a great survival story that’s a stand-alone novel.

Another classic writer of survival tales is Theodore Taylor. Give The Cay and Ice Drift a try!

Roland Smith is a fantastic author who writes all kinds of adventure stories. I would recommend any of his books to kids who like action!

Jeff Probst also has a great survival trilogy.

One of our most popular series is “I Survived” which combines survival with historical fiction. We have ten books from this series, all by Lauren Tarshis.