Children's Book Suggestions | Survival Stories

Some of our favorite survival stories for readers in grades 3-7, most of which are great readalikes for I Survived. For more fictional survival stories, browse our full list of survival stories for kids. Survival guides and true stories can be found in Children's Nonfiction under number 613.69.

Updated June 5, 2024
LINCC (Libraries in Clackamas County)Oregon City Public Library
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The last kids on Earth
Brallier, Max
Paper Book
A Netflix Original series! The first book in the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling series, with over 7 million copies in print! "Terrifyingly fun! Delivers big thrills and even bigger laughs."--Jeff Kinney, author of the #1 ...

The ultimate kid-friendly zombie apocalypse story! (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

Clan
Brouwer, Sigmund
Paper Book
The classic survival story gets a prehistoric twist in this gripping middle-grade adventure featuring a boy and his sabre tooth tiger cub, perfect for fans of Hatchet. Part survival story, part animal-human friendship story and part redemption story, Clan follows the...

A prehistoric survival story featuring a disabled teen boy from a Christy-nominated Canadian author. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

15 secrets to survival
Richards, Natalie D.
Paper Book
New York Times bestselling authorNatalieD. Richards's middle grade debut about a group of four classmates forced to navigate the wilderness for an extra credit project with nothing but the pages of a survival handbook-and each other-to save them. When...

Four former best friends are stranded in the woods during a wilderness retreat and must work together despite their animosity towards each other. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

I survived the sinking of the Titanic, 1912
Tarshis, Lauren.
Paper Book
The most terrifying events in history are brought vividly to life in this New York Times-bestselling series!Ten-year-old George Calder can't believe his luck -- he and his little sister, Phoebe, are on the famous Titanic, crossing the ocean with their Aunt Daisy. The ship is full of exciting...

The O.G.! The original chapter books are also being adapted as graphic novels. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

Lost time
Mukanik, Tas
Paper Book
Jurassic World meets How to Train Your Dragon in this gorgeously drawn, adventure-packed middle grade graphic novel about a girl who gets trapped 65 million years in the past and must learn to survive with only her wits...and the pterosaur she befriends. Twelve-year...
A girl relies on a dinosaur for survival when she's accidentally trapped in the Cretaceous era. (Children's Graphic Novel Grades 3-5)
The songbird and the rambutan tree
Abendanon, Lucille
Paper Book
Batavia, Dutch East Indies, 1942.Emmy has the voice of an angel but hasn't sung a note since a family tragedy. With war looming, her father plans to ship her off to a singing school in England for safety. But all Emmy wants to do is stay in Batavia with her best friend, Bakti, even if it means...
A survival story featuring a historical event not known to many American readers: the Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies during World War II. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)
Shipwreck island
Bodeen, S. A.
Paper Book
Sarah Robinson is deeply troubled in the wake of her dad's second marriage. She now has to deal with a new stepmom and two stepbrothers, Marco, who is her age, and Nacho, who's younger. Even though they've all moved from Texas to California to start life as a new, blended family, none of the kids...

An updated take on Hatchet starring a young girl stranded at sea with her new stepfamily. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

Two degrees
Gratz, Alan
Paper Book
The instant #1 New York Times bestseller! #1 New York Times bestselling author Alan Gratz (Refugee; Ground Zero) is back, tackling the urgent topic of climate change in this breathtaking, action-packed novel that will keep readers turning pages while making...

Three interconnected stories of young teens surviving climate disasters in a not-too-distant future where the global temperature has risen two degrees Celsius. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

Never say die
Hobbs, Will.
Paper Book
When the motto of your village is "never say die," you have a lot to live up to. . . . At home in Canada's Arctic, Nick Thrasher is an accomplished Inuit hunter at fifteen. About to bring home a caribou for his ailing grandfather, Nick loses the meat to a fearsome creature...

Will Hobbs writes super engaging wilderness stories for 8th and 9th grade boys. City of Gold is another fav! (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

Dog driven
Johnson, Terry Lynn
Paper Book
From the author of Ice Dogs comes a riveting adventure about a musher who sets out to prove her impaired vision won't hold her back from competing in a rigorous sled race through the Canadian wilderness. Perfect for fans of Gary Paulsen. McKenna Barney is trying to hide...

A dogsledder with a vision impairment sets out on a daunting race through the Canadian Arctic. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

Desolation Canyon
London, Jonathan
Paper Book
Once you plunge into this thrilling white-water adventure you will not be able to stop until you are safe back on shore. . . . A Class 6 white-water read! ― Roland Smith, NYT best-selling author of PEAK This rapid-paced story for young readers from best-selling author...

The author of the beloved Froggy picture books kicks off this survival series for older readers with an epic whitewater rafting trip. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

Paradise on fire
Rhodes, Jewell Parker
Paper Book
From award-winning and bestselling author Jewell Parker Rhodes comes a powerful coming-of-age survival tale exploring issues of race, class, and climate change.​   Addy is haunted by the tragic fire that killed her parents, leaving her to be raised by her...

A grieving city kid is sent to wildnerness camp after the death of her parents, only to be faced with a life-threatening climate disaster. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

How to stay invisible
Rudd, Maggie
Paper Book
My Side of the Mountain meets How to Steal a Dog in this high-stakes and heartfelt middle-grade story of a young boy and his dog surviving on their own in the woods. Being alone is something Raymond is used to. Twelve-year-old Raymond Hurley...

A homeless middle schooler and his dog try to survive on their own in the woods. For a similar story with a female protagonist, try Carry Me Home by Janet C. Fox. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

Me and Sam-Sam handle the apocalypse
Vaught, Susan
Paper Book
"Edgar-winning Vaught, a neuropsychologist, has both personal and professional experience to draw on in crafting a narrator who is admirably smart and resilient despite an 'itchy' brain and a compulsion to count things." --Booklist (starred review) "Deeply smart and...

A neurodivergent girl and her small-but-fierce dog save the day (and her dad) after a tornado strikes their town. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

Hatchet
Paulsen, Gary.
Paper Book
This award-winning contemporary classic is the survival story with which all others are compared--and a page-turning, heart-stopping adventure, recipient of the Newbery Honor. Hatchet has also been nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read....

A beloved classic about a teen boy who survives 54 days in the wilderness with only his wits and a hatchet after being stranded alone in a plane crash. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)


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