Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry, is set in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1943 at the beginning of World War II. At this time, Nazi Germany has occupied Denmark for the past three years. Annemarie Johansen and her family conceal Annemarie’s best friend, Ellen Rosen, as a member of their family when the Nazis begin to “relocate” all of the Jews of Denmark. Number the Stars tells the story of the Danish Resistance helping to smuggle almost the entire Jewish population of Denmark, nearly 7,000 people, to the safety of Sweden. Bravery, courage, hope, and selflessness are just a few of the many survival/resilience themes that come up throughout this book.

This book is about a Japanese-American family whose lives have been overturned by the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the beginning of World War II. The family is sent to an internment camp, Topaz, and must face numerous physical, psychological and social challenges. The family must have perseverance, courage and determination to survive.

The story is centered around a young girl named Yuki who is coming of age in this very difficult time.

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen is an exciting adventure story about a boy named Brian who survived a plane crash in the Canadian wilderness. Brian must face physical, psychological and social challenges while learning to survive in a very difficult environment.

Throughout the book, Brian must find out ways to deal with his own needs in a survival mode. He must learn to do many things from scratch that he has no experience doing by necessity. For him, necessity really is the mother of invention. Much of his survival is physical in nature. In addition, Brian’s isolation demonstrates the physical difficulties of the experience. Although the story is not a first person narrative, it is told vividly from the point of view of Brian.