Friday 3 November 2017
ReadItDaddy's Chapter Book of the Week - Week Ending 3rd november 2017 - "Survivors: Extraordinary Tales From the Wild and Beyond" by David Long and Kerry Hyndman (Faber and Faber)
If that lead-in doesn't get you excited about "Survivors: Extraordinary Tales from the Wild and Beyond" then you should definitely read the rest of our review, as this has been one of the most amazing books we've read this year.
This Blue Peter Award Winning book gathers together real-life tales of amazing people who have literally stared death in the face, and have come back from the brink of certain doom to prevail in situations where most of us would have given up.
The first thing to note about this amazing book is the presentation. Though it's in our Chapter Book of the Week category it's more akin to a word-heavy picture book, beautifully presented in a large, paperback format, and fully illustrated in colour throughout by amazingly talented Kerry Hyndman.
Each story is presented as a separate chapter, so this is a great book to read in one huge delicious gulp, or chip away at over the course of a few nights. Stunning human stories such as:
The Man Who Sucked Blood from a Shark.
The Man Who Sucked Blood from a Shark.
Telling the story of a brave sailor who survived for 133 days on a raft in the Atlantic when his ship was torpedoed. The man had no choice but to use shark's blood in place of fresh water! EEK!
The Girl Who Fell From the Sky
The incredible tale of a teenager who fell 2 miles from an aeroplane and trekked through harsh Amazon jungle to safety.
The Woman Who Froze to Death
The astonishing story of a woman who was trapped under freezing water for so long her heart stopped. Four hours later, medics managed to warm her blood enough to revive her.
The anthology also features more well-known feats of human endurance such as the incredible story of Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic voyage, as well as more modern exploits such as the adventurer who inspired the movie 127 Hours.
The anthology also features more well-known feats of human endurance such as the incredible story of Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic voyage, as well as more modern exploits such as the adventurer who inspired the movie 127 Hours.
It's almost impossible to put this book down once you start reading (I ended up reading it way into the wee small hours, it was just so utterly gripping and Charlotte devoured the whole thing in one go too!)
We really love this format though, and it's one we would love to see adopted in similar ways elsewhere.
Charlotte's favourite story: The incredible girl who fell out of an aeroplane and survived in the harshest jungle conditions.
Daddy's favourite story: The amazing resilience of Shackleton and his crew, an astonishing feat of survival against insurmountable odds.
(Kindly supplied for review)
"Survivors" by David Long and Kerry Hyndman is out now, published by Faber and Faber.
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