Animal attacks

Gr 5--9--These stories transport readers to dangerous times in the previous century to get a sense of what life was like for young people living through perilous situations. Survivor stories full of hair-raising brushes with natural disasters and wild animals make this book hard to put down. Fast-moving plots and relatable characters will engage readers and hold their interest. The illustrations are a bit of a missed opportunity; while they help readers visualize the setting to some degree, they are overly simplistic. These stories have potential to inspire kids to seek out more information on the architecture, technology, and lifestyles of the times. Young readers today are no strangers to adversity, and reading about the courage of young people in other eras may help to inspire their continued bravery in the face of difficulty. Tips on prefixes and suffixes and explanations about morphology, root words, base words, and a vocabulary list are included. After each episode, a note about the real history behind the events helps readers understand the difference between fact and fiction. Short chapters make the stories very approachable for emerging independent readers. VERDICT "I Survived" fans will be thrilled. This is an excellent crossover to attract animal lovers into new genres like historical fiction and adventure.