Picture Books: Survive Alive series (by Neil Champion)

It is Non-Fiction Monday.  Check out notable non-fiction titles from blogs around the web at Chapter Book a Day. 

My son has recently taken an interest in survival techniques.  (I believe it is all those Man vs. Wild episodes my husband has been watching on Netflix.)  As a result, he wanted to check the library for survival skill books.  There are not many books for children on this topic.  I did find a noteworthy series by Neil Champion called Survive Alive. There are six books in the series.  There were three at my local library:  Finding Your Way,  Making Shelter, and In An Emergency.   Each book provides basic information on the topic, true survival story vignettes, and some step-by-step instructions.  In An Emergency covers first aid, extreme heat or cold, fire, hunger, thirst, dangerous places, and angry animals.  Making Shelter begins by giving some guidelines on choosing a camp site and building basics.  Then, it provides instructs on how to make shelters in varies places—forest, jungle, caves, snow, desert, and prairie.  Finally, Finding Your Way offers background information in ancient navigation skills as well as modern day techniques.  Readers learn how to use the sun, how to navigate at night, how to use maps and high-tech gadgets, and other smart skills.  I recommend this series for ages 9 and up  because of the interesting stories, fascinating facts, and project possibilities.