Kirkus Star
THE KIRKUS STAR
Awarded to Books of Exceptional Merit

BROWSE BOOK REVIEWS




Xtreme Cold-Weather Survival Stories for Teens


Cover art for FORGE
CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 19, 2010

"A good match with Russell Freedman's Washington at Valley Forge (2008). (appendix, glossary, acknowledgments) (Historical fiction. 10 & up)"
At the end of Chains (2008), Isabel rescues her friend Curzon from Bridewell Prison and rows away from Manhattan in their escape from slavery. Read full book review >
Cover art for SHIPWRECK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WORLD
CHILDREN'S
Released: Jan. 1, 1999

"The black-and-white photos, taken mostly on glass plates by the expedition's photographer, Frank Hurley, survived along with the men and are of exceptional quality. (maps, not seen, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-13)"
PLB 0-517-80014-4 Armstrong (The Dreams of Mairhe Mehan, 1996, etc.) narrates the incredible survival saga of Ernest Shackleton, who with a crew of 27 attempted to cross the Antarctic continent in 1914, and ended up trapped in their ship in the ice pack for seven months. Read full book review >
Cover art for HOW TO SURVIVE IN ANTARCTICA
CHILDREN'S
Released: Aug. 1, 2006
by Lucy Jane Bledsoe, photographed by Lucy Jane Bledsoe

"Armchair travelers will be pleased. (glossary, timeline) (Nonfiction. 10-12)"
In this entertaining, if episodic, set of observations, Bledsoe imparts techniques learned during no fewer than three trips to the Antarctic—from spotting whales and building a quick shelter of snow to using an outdoor waste bucket in subzero weather. Read full book review >
Cover art for AFTER THE LAST DOG DIED
CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 1, 2003

This liberally illustrated survival tale makes reading as compelling as any of the recent accounts of Ernest Shackleton's contemporaneous ventures. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE SELECTED
CHILDREN'S
Released: July 20, 2010

"Constantly gripping, always fascinating and completely compelling. (Science fiction. YA)"
Both a prequel and a sequel to Sharp North (2006), this multiple-time-period dystopia can stand on its own for readers willing to accept some confusion until the world of the novel emerges. Read full book review >
Cover art for NO SAFE PLACE
CHILDREN'S
Released: Sept. 1, 2010

"Eminently memorable. (Fiction. 12 & up)"
Fifteen-year-old Abdul, an Iraqi Kurd, has escaped war-torn Baghdad and traveled for four months across six countries only to hit a dead-end in the Jungle in Calais, a community of migrants trying to survive in squalid shanties with winter coming. Read full book review >