A fictional series in which the main characters learn to survive in a variety of conditions. Each book follows a different character as they find themselves in extreme survival situations. In one volume, 12-year-old Nina takes a dinghy out by herself on the ocean for sailing practice and is caught in a storm. In another, Ronan and Jee find an abandoned canoe, take it for a float in the Florida swamp, and get lost. The books include survival tips for the featured location or situation, along with a glossary and discussion prompts. The kids in this series have rudimentary emergency skills but are typically in bad shape by the time they are rescued. Their poor choices in the beginning of the books snowball into life-or-death situations. For example, in Adrift on the Indian Ocean, Nina knows she isn't certified to sail alone but does so anyway.

­VERDICT Add to collections where survival series are already popular but not recommended to start collections with.