From Mountains to Islands: 7 Survivalist Stories for Middle Grade Readers

Wilder Boys, by Brandon Wallace
It’s been a long time since 11-year-old Taylor and 13-year-old Jake have seen their father. He abandoned the family years ago, and the boys have only old letters and a journal to suggest he may be somewhere in Wyoming. With their mother busy working, and spending her free time with her boyfriend, Bull, the boys are pretty much on their own. When violence strikes the household, the boys set off after the only one who can help them: their father. But there’s a lot of land between Pittsburgh and Wyoming, and the brothers have one other problem—they need to get to their dad before Bull gets to them.

Jack the Castaway, by Lisa Doan and Ivica Stevanovic
Jack’s parents are semi-successful world travelers. No matter the adventure, something always goes horribly wrong, but they always manage to make it out alive. For their next grand trip, they’re taking Jack on a Caribbean adventure as part of their get-rich-quick plan to start a snorkeling business. As always, something goes wrong, but this time Jack finds himself shipwrecked on a remote island, and his parents nowhere to be seen. The first in an adventure series for younger readers, Jack the Castaway is just the right combination of adventure and humor.

Lily’s Mountain, by Hannah Moderow
12-year-old Lily has grown up hiking the Alaska Wilderness with her survivalist father. When he sets off to climb Denali, the largest mountain in North America, it’s nothing out of the ordinary. He’s done it before. When he doesn’t return,  Lily and her sister Sophie are told that he’s likely perished. Lily just can’t believe it. Her father is too much of an expert to be beaten by the mountain. Something doesn’t add up, and Lily and her sister set off to discover what’s really happened to their father.

I Am David, by Anne Holm
David has spent his entire 12 years in a prison camp. When an opportunity for escape arises, David snatches it. Suddenly, he finds himself on the other side of the barbed wire fence, with little idea of what to do next, and his pursuers not far behind. Free, but entirely on his own, he can think only to head to Denmark, in search of his mother. While this is a story of physical survival, it’s also the story of emotional, and a child learning to live for the first time after 12 years.

The Wild Robot, by Peter Brown
There are lots of human survivalist stories. But how about a robot survivalist story? When Roz powers on, it’s on a remote island. She has no idea why she’s there, or how she arrived, but one thing is clear: it’s now up to Roz to figure out how to survive. At first it seems as if the island’s wild animals and severe weather will make survival impossible. But as Roz learns to adapt, and to work with the island’s inhabitants, she discovers her new home may not be so bad after all. Then comes the day that the robot’s past returns to confront her future.

Jasper and the Riddle of Riley’s Mine, by Caroline Starr Rose
11-year-old Jasper and his older brother, Melvin, have been scheming for a long time, planning their escape together from their abusive father. When Melvin takes off alone, Jasper is quick to follow, catching up with his brother and convincing him to join Jasper on a quest to find a legendary hidden gold mine. It shouldn’t be too hard. All they have to do is unravel the clues, cross the Alaskan wilderness, and get to the mine before anyone else does. It’s their one chance, Jasper feels, to finally be on their own. But it’s the Klondike Gold Rush, and Jasper and Melvin aren’t the only ones searching for the mysterious mine.

Navigating Early, by Clare Vanderpool
Part survival, part mystery, this book by the Newbery Award-winning author of Moon Over Manifest, has a more literary feel than the others on the list, while still plenty full of action and tension. After his mother’s death, Jack’s father sends him to a boy’s boarding school in Maine. For Jack, growing up in Kansas, it’s like moving to another planet, one where he has no chance of fitting in. On a lonely roam around campus, Jack meets Early Auden, the strange boy who lives in the basement, reads the number pi as if it’s a story, and has his own theories on the world. The boys form an unusual friendship, one which leads them on a journey along the Appalachian Trail in search of a great black bear. The further into their quest they travel, the more the lines between reality and fantasy seem to blur, until the reader himself is left questioning: What is truth?