ISO books on outdoor survival skills for preteen

[memartha]

No, I'm not kicking DS out of the house to go live in the woods (though some days...:rolleyes: ).

My preteen DS is very interested in the outdoors, and I remember reading on a book thread on this BB about a book about a man who lives a very untraditional life, kind of like a "Grizzly Adams" type guy... does this ring any bells? I started reading the book, and it had interesting info. about this guy's childhood (he raised turtles in his backyard, hunted, fished, etc.).

I'd like the name of that book, if anyone can remember it, as well as any others that you think would be current and real-world. DS spends some time on Wikipedia looking up and writing things like how to make a bow and arrow; the best way to build a campfire; and other outdoor survival skill type topics.

Thanks for any info. you all can provide.

Martha

[BucknellAlum]

If you are looking for a fiction book, my DS loved "Hatchet" - I believe it is a series. It's about a boy who is stranded on an island and figures out how to survive.

[Kathy B]

How old is your son, Martha?

My Side of the Mountain is a novel about a teenager that goes out and lives on his own. My kids both had to read it in 6th grade as a class project, so that gives you some idea of the reading level involved. I am pretty sure it was made into a movie, too.

ETA: I just looked it up on Amazon, and it looks like it is part of a trilogy now. Here is a review from Amazon.com....

Amazon.com

Every kid thinks about running away at one point or another; few get farther than the end of the block. Young Sam Gribley gets to the end of the block and keeps going--all the way to the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York. There he sets up house in a huge hollowed-out tree, with a falcon and a weasel for companions and his wits as his tool for survival. In a spellbinding, touching, funny account, Sam learns to live off the land, and grows up a little in the process. Blizzards, hunters, loneliness, and fear all battle to drive Sam back to city life. But his desire for freedom, independence, and adventure is stronger. No reader will be immune to the compulsion to go right out and start whittling fishhooks and befriending raccoons.

Jean Craighead George, author of more than 80 children's books, including the Newbery Medal-winning Julie of the Wolves, created another prizewinner with My Side of the Mountain--a Newbery Honor Book, an ALA Notable Book, and a Hans Christian Andersen Award Honor Book. Astonishingly, she wrote its sequel, On the Far Side of the Mountain, 30 years later, and a decade after that penned the final book in the trilogy, Frightful's Mountain, told from the falcon's point of view. George has no doubt shaped generations of young readers with her outdoor adventures of the mind and spirit. (Ages 9 to 12) --Emilie Coulter

[MrsReber]

I think I might know who you mean. DH is very into survival skills and he has a book by this guy- I think his name is Tom Brown?? Something like that. I can double check with DH. The guy actually still teaches classes on this stuff. He'll take teens into the woods and teach them how to survive on what's available to them. It's pretty interesting stuff. He learned a lot from watching the animals find food and warmth.

Okay, just did a search on Amazon- it is Tom Brown. There are several books of his on Amazon.

[tamawrite]

If your DS is an avid reader, he might be interested in the Foxfire books (nonfiction), which pass on all kinds of "old knowledge" about everything from pouring bullets to making root cellars to smoking fish to gutting deer to building log cabins to any other aspect of frontier life you could possibly imagine. They're very interesting!

[Lauren]

I asked DH because he's also/was into survival skills. He's trying to remember the author he likes. Does your son watch Man VS. Wild and Survival Man? Two interesting shows on surviving in the wild.

[memartha]

Thank you!

BucknellAlum, DS has read Hatchet and it's one of his favorite books.

KathyB, he's 12. I think he would LOVE My Side of the Mountain. Great suggestion. He has read Julie of the Wolves but wasn't crazy about it.

Mrs. Reber, I will look up Tom Brown. I'm not sure if that's the guy I was thinking of or not.

Tamawrite, I will look up the Foxfire books. Sounds like a promising lead.

Lauren, he LOVES watching Survivor Man. Don't know if he's seen the other show.

Thanks again for all your help. We had a great bonfire last night (might have been illegal:eek: ) and watched the bats fly through the air and call to each other or whatever they do at dusk. He was proud of his fire-building skills.