Adventures With Books: July Reading List

Too hot for outside? Stay cool with a great book!

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I know, it is already July 12th, but not don’t worry. These books are fast reads. I have a strong hunch you will get through all of them before August arrives.

If you have already read some of these recommendations, I urge you to read them again. I have read Hatchet and My Side Of the Mountain several times and I am still learning new things.

These books are best suited for young adults of middle school age and older. Parents, read them first or read them with your children. Turn the TV off, set the mood, and journey together. Take time to discuss the highs and lows and make sure not to skim over the difficult parts.

Great adventures are built on hardships and that is true in each of these tales. Some hardships come in the form of storms and wild animals, others from broken families and broken people, but all work to create characters and lessons that will stay with you long after the final page has been read.

I hope these books inspire you and your family to set out on your own adventures in the wild and that they help you to lead a more meaningful and courageous life.

Red fox road

Francie, a thirteen year girl who loves reading about wilderness survival, gets to put her skills to the test. Her journey to get back to the road and to her parents, take many twists and turns in this very moving story.

Francie and her parents are on a spring road trip: driving from British Columbia, Canada, to hike in the Grand Canyon. When a shortcut leads them down an old logging road, disaster strikes. Their truck hits a rock and wipes out the oil pan. They are stuck in the middle of nowhere. Francie can’t help feeling a little excited — she’d often imagined how she’d survive if she got stranded in the bush, and now here they are. But will her survival skills — building fires, gathering dandelion leaves and fir needles for tea — be enough when hours stretch into days?

Hatchet

Have you ever wondered if you had what it takes to survive in the wilderness when disaster strikes? Could you make it with only the clothes on your back and a trusty hatchet?

Thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson, haunted by his secret knowledge of his mother’s infidelity, is traveling by single-engine plane to visit his father for the first time since the divorce. When the plane crashes, killing the pilot, the sole survivor is Brian. He is alone in the Canadian wilderness with nothing but his clothing, a tattered windbreaker, and the hatchet his mother had given him as a present.

My side of the mountain

I think as children and even as adults, we get the urge to “run away” and to test ourselves. We yearn for a life that is real, where our decisions and actions determine whether we will eat that day or sleep soundly in a dry shelter. Maybe Sam will inspire you to set out on your own adventure.

Sam Gribley is terribly unhappy living in his family’s crowded New York City apartment. So, armed with just the bare necessities-a penknife, a ball of cord, some flint and steel, and the clothes on his back-he runs away to the mountains. There, Sam must rely on his own ingenuity and the resources of the great outdoors to survive-and he discovers a side of himself he never knew existed.

Touching spirit Bear

This story is perhaps best suited for a slightly older child as the content is at times disturbing and of a mature nature. I had tears in my eyes numerous times with this one and felt deeply for Cole Matthews and the people in his orbit. I promise you this book will have you not only wanting to go to Southeast Alaska in search of Spirit Bears, but will have you wrestling with some profound questions.

After severely injuring Peter Driscal in an empty parking lot, mischief-maker Cole Matthews is in major trouble. But instead of jail time, Cole is given another option: attend Circle Justice, an alternative program that sends juvenile offenders to a remote Alaskan Island to focus on changing their ways. Desperate to avoid prison, Cole fakes humility and agrees to go.

Thank you for reading and for spending time with Adventures With Nature. Wishing you many hours of joyful reading and that they inspire you and your family to seek out your own wild experiences in the great outdoors. If you like this post and the recommended books, please share it with others. If you want to visit my Bookshop page to view my reading lists, please click here. Stay tuned for our August reading list.