Kensuke's Kingdom

Sprite refuses to let anyone see him cry

Morpurgo, Michael. Kensuke's Kingdom. New York : Scholastic Press, 2003.

Plot: Following his parents' layoffs from the brick factory, Michael's life dissolves into despair. His father, however, decides to make the family's loss into an opportunity. They will travel for a year by boat to discover the world beyond their English city. The first part of the trip goes well, but, one night, in a moment of carelessness, he finds himself and his dog washed overboard. Much to his surprise, he does not drown. Instead, he finds himself on an island...and at the mercy of its sole inhabitant. The island's hermit, Mr. Kensuke, a survivor of World War II, expresses a reluctance to rejoin humanity, due to the destruction of war. Still, he learns to enjoy Michael's presence, even if he cannot stay with the boy.

Genre: Adventure, Coming of Age, Survival

Reading Level: Grades 4-6

Similar Titles: The Cay,  The Swiss Family Robinson

Personal Thoughts: Most survivor stories have a bittersweet aspect. Kensuke's Kingdom injects the sorrowful tone into every plot point. The family fights depression and arguments, even as they find themselves needing to rely on each other. Michael's desire for rescue conflicts with his loyalty to Kensuke, while Kensuke's longing to find his son and wife clashes with his conviction of their death. As a result, a sad strain seeps through the entire novel. I mentioned previously, discussing somber topics in tween novels can be tricky, since tweens often view grief differently than adults. As such, some tweens may enjoy the adventure but be turned off by the sad aspects, particularly in the ending, when Kensuke can be viewed as more selfish than sympathetic. Recommend with caution.

How to Survive in Antarctica

Bledsoe, Lucy Jane. How to Survive in Antarctica. New York : Holiday House, 2006.

Plot: Journalist Lucy Jane Bledsoe managed to reach Antarctica through a grant for writers and artists. She fell in love with the wilderness, and visited several other times. The book offers a record of her trips, as well as stories and advice for survival. For example, she outlines how to create a polar-worthy emergency shelter, adjust cold-weather clothing, and avoid crevasses. She also offers more personal stories, such as a trip to an abandoned airplane and a visit to an active volcano. The text offers a realistic and exciting view of Antarctic culture, wildlife, history, and travel.

Genre: Adventure, Geography, Survival

Reading Level: Grades 4-9

Similar Titles: Life Under Ice, Polar Explorers for Kids

Personal Thoughts: The title offers a brief overview to modern polar travel. Photographs complement the text-heavy title, adding context and illustrations. Impressively, Bledsoe manages to address the adventurous aspects of travel without glossing over the need for respect, rules, and order at the Pole. The book is a useful read for tweens with a desire to understand current activity in the far south.

Side Note: Bledsoe did not mention the need for a soft, fluffy blanket, but Jerome likes it anyway. 

Hatchet

Paulsen, Gary. Hatchet. New York: Bradbury Press, 1987.

Plot: On the way to visit his father in the oil wells of Canada, Brian finds himself in the worst-case scenario. The pilot suffers a heart attack and dies. Brian manages to land the plane, but finds himself lost and alone in the Canadian wilderness. His only tools are his tattered, wet clothes and his small hatchet, bought by his mother. He survives by learning to hunt, fish, make shelter, and create fire with his meager provisions. Yet, even with his survival at risk, he cannot forget the Secret. The Secret caused him to visit his father. The Secret caused his parents to divorce and separate with a national border between them. Yet, the Secret cannot stop him from surviving.

Reading Level: 6-8 grade

Genre: Adventure, Survival

Similar Titles: Julie of the Wolves, Brian’s Return, Sign of the Beaver

Personal Thoughts: The book won a Newbery Honor Award. However, I did not care for it. While this novel covered physiological issues, such as secrets, parental relationships, and coming of age, much of the emotion seems tacked on, almost like the "drama" in a reality-television series. The fact that a boy finds himself in a struggle for survival makes enough conflict for a novel by itself. The family issues fail to add depth or genuine sympathy for the protagonist. Additionally, Brian seems artificially mature and aloof, particularly in comparison to CC from Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society, Sam from My Side of the Mountain,  or Karana from Island of the Blue Dolphins. Unlike the other heroes, never really appears to be a child. Rather, he is an “adult in a kid’s body.” The other protagonists' changes were more gradual and believable. Even so, the novel does present the challenges of survival as challenges. Nothing comes automatically or easily, so that aspect of the story is realistic. Apparently, two sequels came as a result of Hatchet’s success. The novel also provided the basis for Cry in the Wild, a movie made in 1990.

Island of the Blue Dolphins

O’Dell, Scott. Island of the Blue Dolphins. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1960.

Plot: When her people prepare leave their island home following a bloody battle with a group of otter hunters, Karana happily boards the ship. However, she realizes her younger brother was left behind. Ignoring the attempts to calm her, she jumps overboard and swims out to him. She and her brother prepare for the return of the ship but, after only a few days, he is killed by wild dogs. Karana must survive on her island alone. The story follows her many years as she finds food, makes weapons, avoids the hunters, dreams of friends, and survives the natural disasters common to the islands off California.

Genre: Adventure, Historical Fiction, Survival

Reading Level: Grades 4-7

Similar Titles: Hatchet, My Side of the Mountain, Julie of the Wolves

Personal Thoughts: The book won a Newbery Medal in 1961.

The book is a good survival story about a survivor. While most survival stories focus on people in completely foreign situations, this is a story about a girl who knows what to do to survive and even thrive. In a sense, she learns to live in her own home. Still, the reader gains a sense of the loneliness and trials she faces. At the same time, the readers realize life on the island becomes a part of her. While the book ends happily, the reader also understands what she looses by leaving the island.

As a side note, I loved this book when I was younger. I literally read the cover off of my copy, taped it back together, and read it until the cover and the first few pages became completely destroyed.

My Side of the Mountain

George, Jean Craighead. My Side of the Mountain. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1988.

Plot: Sam Gribley, tired of sharing a house with his mother, father, and 10 siblings, decides to run away. He manages to fulfill two dreams of almost every child. He runs away and gets away with it. Instead of running through the streets of New York. After studying and developing survival skills, he runs to his family's ancestral farm in the Catskill Mountains. Through his studies and mistakes, Sam creates a comfortable home within the mountains. He also discovers friends in the mountains in the form of Frightful, a falcon, and Baron Weasel.

Genre: Fiction, Adventure

Reading Level: Ages 9-12

Similar Titles: Island of the Blue Dolphins, Hatchet, Julie of the Wolves

Personal Thoughts: A good introductory to survival guides. The story, while easily impossible, is thoroughly believable through solid research in survival, plants, and animals of Eastern North America. I loved this story as a kid, but I have the same complaint now as I did then. The reader never wants the story to end. An ending is inevitable, but it seems as unexpected and unwelcome as a penguin in the desert.

The book won a Newbery Honor.

Holes

Sachar, Louis. Holes. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998.

Plot: Stanley, like his father, grand father, and great-grandfather always manage to be in exactly the wrong place at exactly the wrong time. After he is accused of stealing, he finds himself at Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention facility devoid of water. The warden and councilors are sadistic and the other boys are not much better. He blames his luck on the curse brought by his great-great-grandfather's theft of a pig. Yet, despite his misfortune, he finds someone with less luck than himself. Much to surprise (and secret) of them both, they contain the means of breaking the curses on Stanley and Green Lake itself.

Reading Level: 9-12 years

Genre: Fiction, Adventure, Survival

Similar Titles: Maniac Magee

Personal Thoughts: The book won a Newbury Award and National Book Award. It deserves them. Billy is a believable boy in unbelievable circumstances. He suffers from bullies, people who do not understand him, and people who do not want to understand him. Yet, he still wants to be a good kid.
My favorite aspect of the book comes from the "set-up." Billy and his companions do not suffer at random. Their situations arise as the results of the actions of their ancestors. It inspires thought on why things are the way they are in a humorous way.

The Legend of Bass Reeves: Being the True and Fictional Account of the Most Valiant Marshal in the West

Paulsen, Gary. The Legend of Bass Reeves: Being the True and Fictional Account of the Most Valiant Marshal in the West. New York: Wendy Lamb Books, 2006.

Plot: The historical fiction tale follows Bass Reeves, a young Texan slave in the 1830's. Warned by coyotes that "Things will change," Bass obeys his mother and avoids trouble. However, as his master becomes more and more dependent on whiskey, Bass finds himself maintaining the ranch with little supervision. When the master attempts to cheat Bass out of his freedom in a poker match, Bass confronts him. While he manages to survive the fight, he flees the ranch, fearing for his life. He manages to survive in the dangerous "Indian Territory" for years. At the end of the Civil War, he sets up a ranch of his own. However, when Issac Parker calls for marshals to "clean up" the Indian Territory of murderers, thieves, and other criminals, Bass proudly joins and becomes one of the most successful marshals in U.S. history.

Genre: Historical Fiction, Adventure

Reading Level: Grades 6-8

Similar Titles: Hatchet, Shane

Personal Thoughts: Paulsen wishes to bring attention to a largely-ignored hero. Many western novels favor heroes that were not, in fact, heroic. Bass Reeves is the opposite. He escaped slavery, became a successful rancher, and fought for the law. Yet, terribly few people know about him. The book attempts to amend this injustice by providing a solid, interesting read about a genuine hero. However, only one chapter is dedicated to what made him heroic. I do not mean to disregard the other aspects of his life. Avoiding capture, maintaining values, and building a business are remarkable in their own right. Yet, Reeve's life as a marshal, his titular roll, only gets 31 pages in a 137 page book. The focus of the novel seems a bit skewed. Nevertheless, the book offers insight to a historic hero.

Little House in the Big Woods

Wilder, Laura Ingalls. Little House in the Big Woods. New York : Harper & Bros., 1953.

Plot: An autobiography of Laura Ingalls, a six-year-old girl growing up in the pioneer days of the United States. Throughout the year, Laura experiences preparing for winter, listening to her father's stories, helping her mother, and trying to get along with her sister.

Reading Level: 9-11

Genre: Non-Fiction, Autobiography, History

Similar Titles: Little House on the Prairie

Personal Thoughts: While Little House on the Prairie has been dismissed by most school districts due to racist undertones, I'm surprised schools haven't pushed Little House in the Big Woods more. It really is an enlightening book. It reminds readers that history was not built solely on the backs of politicians, warriors, and rebels. The book also makes readers realize how much has changed since those times.

Young readers can easily relate to Laura's relationships with her older (and much-admired/resented) sister, "wild" uncle, and spoiled cousin. At the risk of sounding like a museum commercial, the book does make history come alive. Just be aware, though, that a pig is butchered and the bladder is used as a ball. That part of the book kept me from reading it for years.