Survival Stories

Stranded on Island Stories

Island of the Blue Dolphin by Scott O’Dell

Based on the true story of Juana Maria, a Nicoleño Indian who was left stranded on an island for many years in the 19th century. The book's young Karana stays behind on an island after her tribe departs and has to navigate a new wild life with a pack of feral dogs and the other animals that she inhabits the island alongside. The book won the Newbery Medal in 1961.

The Cay by Theodore Taylor

When the freighter on which they are traveling is torpedoed by a German submarine during World War II, an adolescent white boy, blinded by a blow on the head, and an old black man are stranded on a tiny Caribbean island where the boy acquires a new kind of vision, courage, and love from his old companion.

Shipwreck by Gordon Korman (Book 2-Survival, Book 3 – Escape)

Six kids. One fate. They didn't want to be on the boat in the first place. They were sent there as a character-building experience. But now that the adults are gone, the quest for survival has begun. This first book in a suspenseful survival trilogy delivers the gripping drama of people battling the elements to younger readers.

Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry

The story of a 15-year-old Polynesian boy named Maftu who was afraid of the sea and was branded a coward. No longer able to bear the bullying, he set off on his canoe with his dog and pet albatross, determined to conquer his fears. A storm leads him to a deserted island where he must fend for his life. An inspiring coming-of-age story. Winner of the Newbery Medal.

Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen

After severely injuring Peter Driscal in an empty parking lot, troublemaker Cole Matthews is in major trouble. But instead of jail time, Cole is given an alternative: a one-year banishment to a remote Alaskan island. 

Baby Island by Carol Ryrie Brink

Robinson Crusoe meets the Babysitter's Club: 12-year-old Mary Wallace and her 10-year-old sister Jean are on an ocean liner on its way to Australia. Their love of babysitting leads them to caring for the adorable children of two families on board. Then the ocean liner wrecks (!) and the pair manage to make it to a deserted island with four babies. They make a home on the island for themselves and the little ones.

Other Survival Stories

Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George

Julie is an unhappily married Eskimo orphan who runs away, hoping to reach her San Francisco pen pal. Thirteen-year-old Miyax (Julie to her "white people" friends) becomes lost in the Alaskan tundra with no food or shelter, and has to examine who she really is. A pack of wolves begins to accept her into their pack. Often challenged in school libraries because of its "adult themes," Julie of the Wolves is an essential coming of age story that deals realistically with issues like alcoholism and feminism, while also telling a magical story of wildlife and adventure. Winner of the Newbery Medal.

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (Book 2- The River, Book 3 – Brian’s Winter)

Brian is on his way to Canada to visit his estranged father when the pilot of his small prop plane suffers a heart attack. Brian is forced to crash-land the plane in a lake--and finds himself stranded in the remote Canadian wilderness with only his clothing and the hatchet his mother gave him as a present before his departure. 

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

Sam is a 12-year-old boy who hates his family's cramped New York City apartment and decides to run away to his great-grandfather's abandoned farm in the Catskill Mountains. He reads a book about wilderness survival and uses his fledgling skills to stay alive: camping, hunting, and even making a peregrine falcon named Frightful his pet and hunting companion. Newbery Medal Honors 1960.

Classic Stories

The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss. Inspired by the teachings of John-Jacques Rousseau, this 1812 novel is the wholesome saga of a family's 10-year sojourn on a deserted island. When the Robinsons' boat is shipwrecked, things look bleak, but the island is blessed with a cornucopia of natural resources and the brave family survives and builds a successful colony.

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. Was ever a 19th century classic so page-turningly readable? You can practically smell the rum in the Admiral Benbow Inn, or the salt crusting the sails of the Hispaniola. Jim the cabin boy is not especially well served by his adult allies – the bumbling, big-mouthed Squire Trelawney, the righteous and rather smug Dr Livesey – but he has the best enemy possible in Long John Silver. As events come to a violent climax on Treasure Island itself, Jim and John fight a battle of wits on hot and hostile terrain.

The Black Stallion by Walter Farley. Boy loves horse. Horse is completely indifferent – until they are the sole survivors of a shipwreck, washed up on a tropical island. Boy saves horse, horse saves boy… and at last The Black comes to trust Alec, and return his devotion. The island magic might be lost a little when they’re rescued, but there are still thrills to come as Alec decides to pit The Black against the two fastest racehorses in America. Fairytale boy-and-horse fiction.