It's official. How I Became a Teenage Survivalist is an Accelerated Reader AR book. It's worth 8 points! AR Quiz No. 163693.
|
0 Comments
Daniel Calder St. Petersburg Sustainable Living Examiner Daniel Calder This writer was fortunate enough to have been granted an exclusive interview with Julie L. Casey, author of the novel How I Became a Teenage Survivalist. Julie's interest in the topic of survivalism dates back to her childhood: "Even as a child, my games were always about living as they did in olden times, either as a pioneer or a Native American. As an adult, I've often daydreamed about how we would live if life was less modern, but I never thought of it in terms of a post-apocalyptic, survivalist situation until I wrote How I Became a Teenage Survivalist"(Casey). She likewise believes that children would benefit from legitimate survivalist knowledge beyond mere games:
I believe all children would benefit from knowing several of those skills, and homeschooling is a great environment to learn them. However, at my husband's small school (he's a public school science teacher), the 8th grade English class read HIBATS the last week of school, and then went on a 24-hour survivalist campout where they learned many survival skills, like making a rocket stove, foraging for a wild salad, and fishing for their supper. My husband, our homeschooled sons, and I got to go along and share our knowledge with them. It was an awesome experience. I am now working on a curriculum to go along with the book that would allow teachers, parents, librarians, book clubs, and anyone else who is interested to try some survival skills at a level that is appropriate for their situations(Casey). Readers Favorite Book Reviews and Award Contest
Reviewed by Kim Anisi for Readers' Favorite
When the power goes out on PF Day (PF for Power Failure), Bracken, the main character in How I Became A Teenage Survivalist by Julie L. Casey, realizes that he is quite lucky. He lives on a farm with his family and they have everything they need to survive: their own vegetables and animals, and a will to adapt. And adapting is something that becomes very important when you have no power - which means there is no fridge to keep things cool, no lights, no heaters, and no video games. Bracken's family will have to learn to survive - not only will they have to become even more self-sufficient than before, there's also the problem with looters who would like to help themselves to whatever they can find. Reading How I Became A Teenage Survivalist had a number of effects on me: it entertained me, it taught me about a variety of alternative power sources, and it kept me thinking about what I would do if something like the PF day ever happened to me. That's a whole heap of things for a book to do! Usually books either entertain or teach you - but only the really good ones combine this. Julie L. Casey did a great job. The book is well written and very well researched. If you manage to keep all of the information in your head, then you'll already have a few good pointers on what to do if you ever find yourself without power for a long time. But if you only look for entertainment, the book also delivers - it's really hard to put down. |
RSS Feed