My favorite childhood pastime was playing in the acre of woods behind our house and pretending to survive in the
wilderness. I dug up the roots of Queen Anne's Lace for wild carrot soup, gathered goldenrod
for seasoning, and baked mud dishes in the sun. Of course, now I know that I would have become violently ill if I had actually eaten the roots of
Queen Anne's Lace. While I like to think I would
survive in the wilderness, I realize I still only have the knowledge of a six-year-old
digging up poisonous wild carrots.
Perhaps
this lack of knowledge is what fueled my interest in survival stories. I
wanted to believe that reading these stories would teach me survival skills. So this week I'm recommending two fictional survival stories
that provide survival tips for other adventurous readers.
Hatchet
by
Gary Paulson: Grades 6-9
Hatchet is a nerve-wracking story, which is
why I’ve read it more than once. Survival stories always evoke feelings of
anxiety; the reader needs to know if characters manage to
build a fire before nightfall or catch a fish
before they starve. Brian’s
story has this anxiety and sense of danger, as he has to survive a tornado and animal attacks (Canadian moose are surprisingly combative).
While I still don’t think I could build a fire or fish, I gained a vague sense of how to do them through Hatchet. I also like that Hatchet
focuses on the emotional trauma of being lost in the wilderness in addition to the
physical trauma.
One necessary survival step shown in the book occurs when Brian says that “the most important rule of survival” is that “feeling sorry for yourself didn’t work.” This is an important rule according to Alderleaf Wilderness College, as the college's first survival step is to make a plan and to avoid panicking. If a person creates a plan, this creates a logical series of steps to accomplish rather than panicking over the enormous task of general survival.
One necessary survival step shown in the book occurs when Brian says that “the most important rule of survival” is that “feeling sorry for yourself didn’t work.” This is an important rule according to Alderleaf Wilderness College, as the college's first survival step is to make a plan and to avoid panicking. If a person creates a plan, this creates a logical series of steps to accomplish rather than panicking over the enormous task of general survival.
My
Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George: Grades 5-8
Summary: Teenage Sam Gribley is tired of living in New York City, so he runs away to his grandfather’s abandoned farm in the mountains. There, Sam “sets up house in a huge hollowed-out tree, with a falcon and weasel for companions and his wits as his tool for survival.”
While
My Side of the Mountain is a survival
story, it’s different from Hatchet.
Sam chooses to live in the wilderness, which means the book focuses more on the
beauty of nature than the dangers. While Sam does deal with natural disasters
such as blizzards, the reader is aware that Sam can walk off the mountain at any
moment and go back to civilization. Because of this, Sam’s story more like a
realistic version of the survival game I played in my woods, rather than a
nerve-wracking story like Hatchet.
Sam has to learn basic survival skills, though, which allows the readers to learn along with him. In fact, an accompanying survival handbook for My Side of the Mountain came out a decade ago. Both the My Side of the Mountain book and handbook cover the basic skills that Alderleaf Wilderness College lists, such as making a clear plan, building a shelter, and finding fresh water. These skills may seem simple, but if people never learn them they may discover their lack of knowledge too late.
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| Drawing of Sam in the book. |
Sam has to learn basic survival skills, though, which allows the readers to learn along with him. In fact, an accompanying survival handbook for My Side of the Mountain came out a decade ago. Both the My Side of the Mountain book and handbook cover the basic skills that Alderleaf Wilderness College lists, such as making a clear plan, building a shelter, and finding fresh water. These skills may seem simple, but if people never learn them they may discover their lack of knowledge too late.
My last two book recommendations also include survival strategies.
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell: Grades 6-8
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George: Grades 5-8
