Survivor Kid

April 15, 2011

Based on her work with middle-school students, Long offers lessons on how to stay healthy and out of trouble while awaiting rescue, the same lessons taught to adults in her survival classes.

Her matter-of-fact, no-nonsense tone will play well with young readers, and the clear writing style is appropriate to the content. The engaging guide covers everything from building shelters to avoiding pigs and javelinas. With subjects like kissing bugs, scorpions, snow blindness and "How going to the bathroom can attract bears and mountain lions," the volume invites browsing as much as studying. The information offered is sometimes obvious: "If you find yourself facing an alligator, get away from it"; sometime humorous: Raccoons will "fight with your dog, steal all your food, then climb up a tree and call you bad names in raccoon language"; and sometimes not comforting: "When alligators attack on land, they usually make one grab at you; if they miss, you are usually safe." But when survival is at stake, the more information the better, especially when leavened with some wit. An excellent bibliography will lead young readers to a host of fascinating websites, and 150 clipart-style line drawings complement the text.

A splendid volume for young adventurers. (index not seen) (Nonfiction. 9-14)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

June 1, 2011
Grades 5-8 A great deal of practical information about surviving in the outdoors is packed into this compact guide. Long has clearly spent a lot of time in the woods, and she is able to supplement her advice for avoiding nasty bugs, poisonous plants, frostbite, and angry predators with personal anecdotes, which push this title beyond merely a collection of do's and don'ts and lend it compelling immediacy. Readers won't soon forget her first-person accounts of meetings with bears and mountain lions, for example. The book is generously illustrated with black-and-white drawings, which extend the concepts and add interest, and a small list of suggested resources offers direction for readers who want to continue on with their research. Of course, accounts of what can go wrong in the woods may lead some readers to decide that it is safer just to stay home. For those planning to venture beyond their front porches, however, this is a useful guide.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)