12 Survival Themed Books to Read to Your Children This Summer

I don’t know about in your house, but in our house summer is well underway.   Summer to me means that the kids have more free time and usually I have more free time as well.  In my mind, I have so much to do.  So many projects to tackle! BUT I’m learning that despite the fact that my middle children are 12 and 13 and my youngest one is 7, that they NEED their mama.  I have one who really just needs to sit in my lap for even ten minutes a day, and it will make the rest of the day so much easier!

One way to make for me to make the time that this child sits on my lap more enjoyable is reading books to them.  They love it!  I’ve read all seven of the Chronicles of Narnia books to my kids. We’ve read some of the Little House series together.  My husband has read Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy to them, and they always beg for more. So this summer, I’m going to tackle some of these books reading out loud to any of my children who will care to listen, but focusing on my middle two.  If you are looking for some great reading books with a survival theme to read to your kids this summer or to challenge them to read on their own, here are some of my favorites.

Looking for other great reads for yourself?  You can find some of those here.

1.)  Boxcar Children Book 1 – by Gertrude Chandler Warner

I was incredibly surprised when I read this book for the first time.  It is an incredibly enjoyable adventure of four Alden children have lost their mother and father and don’t want to live with their grandfather.  They have no place to live until they stumble across an old abandoned boxcar in the woods.  They clean it out, fix it up, and create a place to live together until they hit a snag.

This will probably be my first read aloud this summer.  If my kids like it then, I’ll encourage them to read more of the books in the series.

2.)  Hatchet – by Gary Paulsen

I gifted this book to my middle son a couple of years ago.  He has really enjoyed the book.  It’s about a thirteen-year-old boy named Brian Robeson flying across Canada to see his father.  When his plane crashes, he has to survive the Canadian wilderness.  All he has with him is his hatchet.  As he makes his way to find his father, his ingenuity and resourcefulness make this a great book to encourage our children to think outside the box during difficult times..

I purchased this book for my (then 10-year-old) son last year.  He’s not fond of reading but enjoyed the story.  Funny enough, three of my other children borrowed the book from him and subsequently read it.  They all loved it.

3.)  Swiss Family Robinson – by Jean Rudolph Wyss (Free on Kindle)

Shipwreck, giant snakes, caves, tigers, pirates – this book has it all!

This was my first introduction to the survival genre as a child.  I loved it even then, but now I understand more about why I love it.  If you have adventure-loving children, they will hang on this book’s every word.

4.) Robinson Crusoe – by Daniel Defoe (Free on Kindle)

This book and Swiss Family Robinson have a lot in common.  I love reading about how Robinson makes the most of his time and resources, how he braves the elements, how his adventurous spirit prevails through hard times.  I love the lessons it teaches children about listening to parents sincere warnings and the consequences of not heeding them mixed in with the mercy that he finds in God’s provision for him.

(At the time of this writing) My family and I are on a trip down to Texas from Illinois.  We’re heading out for a week of family camp.  Because of a car accident we had in February, we purchased a used Toyota.  It has a DVD player, but it doesn’t work.  I have about 15-20 books on Audible.  This is one of those.  We’re listening to it on the way down and will continue on the way back.  My children (with the possible exception of my 6-year-old) are all really enjoying it.

5.)  My Side of the Mountain – by Jean Craighead George (Free PDF)

This was a standard read when I was going to school, but it’s a great fiction book with a wonderful survival theme.  Sam Gribley, a 14-year-old boy, becomes frustrated by living in a cramped New York City apartment with his eight brothers and sisters.  He convinces his father to let him travel to his grandfather’s old farm in the Catskill mountains of New York state.  The book chronicles his trials, triumphs, learning experiences, and frustrations as he learns to live a self-sufficient lifestyle in the woods.

6.)  Farmer Boy – by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Almanzo Wilder grew up in New York State.  This book is just about one year of his life, but the events during that year are fascinating.  So many of the tales about Almanzo in this book are skills and knowledge that we are completely unaware of today like putting wheat into standing bundles to dry, going to a local river and cutting ice blocks to furnish their ice house, having someone come and make brand new shoes from scratch just for Almanzo.  It’s just so fascinating to see how people lived, the skills they had, the trials they underwent, and the small sense of triumph that was felt at the end of a hard day of work.

I’ve read several of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books myself, but this one stands out as my favorite.  I love hearing how things were done in times past.  I’ve always enjoyed living history, and for some reason this book makes it come alive to me.

7.)  Island of the Blue Dolphin – by Scott O’Dell

Karana lived on one of the channel islands off the coast of California in the early 1800’s.  Russian hunters wiped out most of her tribe.  The rest of the tribe was removed from the island, but her brother missed the boat, so Karana jumped out of the boat to find her brother.  The boat didn’t wait for them.  Not long after Karana’s brother is killed by a pack of ferril dogs, so Karana lives on the island all by herself.  She has to learn to fend for herself.

8.) Call It Courage – by Armstrong Sperry

Mafatu is afraid of the ocean because he witnessed his mother die in the ocean when he was a small child.  He is teased and ridiculed by his stepbrothers and the rest of his tribe.  One night he takes a canoe out into the ocean, gets caught in a storm and is blown to an island inhabited by cannibals.  Mafatu has to learn to survive, face his fears, and make a plan to get home.

Need a novel to help children learn to face their fears?  Call it Courage is it.

9.)  Braving It – by James Campbell

Reading about adventure wasn’t enough for this family.  Because they developed a taste for adventure and self-sufficiency, this father and daughter traveled out into the Alaskan wilderness together.  James Campbell and his daughter Aidan moved to Alaska for a summer to help James’s cousin build a cabin in Alaska’s rugged Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.  Garnering a taste for this difficult life, they return to the area three times.  Each visit tests them more than the last.

10.)  The Maze – By Will Hobbs

Lost and alone in the Red Canyons of the American West, fourteen-year-old Rick Walder discovers the camp of an ornithologist.  Once he gets to know the man, he decides to stay with him as he releases California Condors back into their native habitat.  But life is never as simple as it seems.  Rick’s newfound friend is threatened.  Rick has to try to save them.

11 – 12.)  The Boys Book of Survival – How to Survive Anything, Anywhere

– by Scholastic

A Girl’s Guide to the Wild – Be an Adventure Seeking Outdoor Explorer

By Ruby McConnell

Does your child enjoy non-fiction as much if not more than fiction?  This is a great book for not just your boy, but your adventurous girl as well.  Both of my girls enjoy survival non-fiction as much as survival fiction. Both them and my boys love books exactly like this!

What About You?

Do you have any children that you read to?  What kinds of activities do you do with your children during the summers?  What are your favorite fiction works that focus on self-sufficiency?  I’d love to hear.  Leave a comment below and let me know.

Remember, knowledge isn’t just knowing something.  It’s living it!

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Originally posted May 28, 2018; Edited and Revised June 17, 2019