Wilderness-Themed Adventure Books for Middle Grade (4th-6th) and Young Adult Readers  How books were chosen.

	2011 releases
Ages 9 and up	Wolf Storm by Dee Garretson 275 pages This is Stefan’s big break. He’s on location in the mountains far from home for his first movie role, filming a blockbuster sci-fi adventure. The prop, the spaceships, and the trained wolves on set should add up to a dream job, but acting turns out to be much tougher than he ever imagine, and the feels like his inner loser is all that’s showing through. From the way his famously stuck-up co-star, Raine, treats him, he’s pretty sure she thinks so too. And worst of all, no one will believe his claim that there are wild wolves haunting the forest around the set. Jacket cover excerpt, HarperCollins, 2011
Ages 9 and up	Storm Runner by Roland Smith, 143 pages “Chase Masters and his father are storm runners racing across the country in pursuit of hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods. Anywhere bad weather strikes, they are not far behind. Chase is learning more on the road than he ever would just sitting in a classroom. But when the hurricane of the century hits, he will be tested in way he never could have imagined.” Jacket cover excerpt, Scholastic, 2011
Ages 9 and up	Flutter by Erin E. Moulton, 198 pages “Big things are about to happen at Maple’s house. Mama’s going to have a baby, which means that Dawn’s going to become a triple big sister. Maple’s going to become a double big sister, and Beetle’s going to become a big sister, too, even though she can barely talk. But when baby Lily is born too early with a heart that’s not quite working right, Maple knows it’s up to her to find the miracle that will save her sister. So she and Dawn, armed with a map, some leftover dinner and their Thinking Caps, head off down a rive and up a mountain to find the Wise Woman who stands guard over a pool of water with miraculous powers. Now it’s not only Lily[s survival that they have to worry about, but also their own. And the danger that Maple and Dawn encounter on their journey makes them realize a thing or two about miracles-and about each other.” Jacket cover excerpt Philomel Books, Penguin, 2011
Ages 9 and up	Into the Trap by Craig Moodie, 199 pages “Eddie Atwell’s family has been trapping lobsters for generations. Eddie knows the waters around the small Massachusetts fishing community where he lives better than the roads of the island. And someday he’ll be a lobsterman just like his father. But lately someone has been stealing their catch, threatening to put the family out of business and force them off the island. When Eddie comes across the thieves’ trap, he suddenly realized that it’s up to him to bring in the culprits and rescue the lobsters-and his family.His mission lead him to Briggs, a rich kid who has run away from sailing camp and also has reason to bring the thieves to justice. Together this unlikely pair embarks on a high-speed adventure that puts their very lives at risk and takes all their courage not only to save the day but also to survive.”Jacket cover excerpt, Roaring Brook Press, 2011

	2010 Releases
Ages 9 and up	Wildfire Run by Dee Garretson, 256 pages "The President’s retreat, Camp David, is one of the safest places in the United States. So why can’t the President’s son, Luke, and his friends Theo and Callie stay there without Secret Service agents constantly hovering over them, watching their every move? And yet, when an earthquake sets of a raging wildfire, causing a chain reaction that wreaks havoc at Camp David, they are suddenly on their own. Now Luke needs a plan: to override the security systems, to save those who were supposed to save him, to get through an impassable gate, and to escape Camp David." Jacket cover excerpt, HarperCollins, 2010
Ages 9 and up	Desperate Measures by Laura Summers, 250 pages “Vicky might not have much in common with her twin sister, Rhianna, and little brother, Jamie, but she knows one thing—they belong together. So after their father disappears and their foster family bails on them, they do what they have to do and run away. They hope to find shelter in the lakeside cottage of an elderly aunt. But the journey is more than treacherous. Not only do they have to escape authorities and stray dogs and deal with constant hunger, but Vicky has to cope with a sister whose learning disabilities make it hard for her to grasp issues like time passage and death, and a little brother always looking for a fight. It feels like things will either fall apart or explode at any minute. When they meet a bunch of teens intent on bullying them, the cards truly seem stacked against them. But Rhianna and Jamie are not to be underestimated when the going gets rough, and their daring just might help lead the kids to a future where they can be together.” Jacket cover excerpt, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, An imprint of Penguin Group, 2010

Ages 9 and up	2009 and earlier releases Go Big or Go Home by Will Hobbs, 185 pages “A meteorite is hurtling toward the Black Hills of South Dakota…Brady Steele watches in awe as a fireball cames crashing through the roof of his house…Fred, as Brady names his space rock, turns out to be one of the rarest meteorites ever found. Professor Rip Ripley from the museum in Hill city wants to study a sliver of it in search of extraterrestrial bacteria. He’s hoping to discover the first proof of life beyond Earth, a momentous breakthrough for the nex science of astrobiology. During a wild week of extreme bicycling, fishing, and caving, Brady and Quinn{his cousin} battle their rivals, the nororious Carver boys, for possession of the meteorite. With each new day, Brady is discovering he’s able to do strange and wonderful feats that shouldn’t be possible. At the same time, he’s developing some frightening symptoms. Could he be infected with long-dormant microbes from space? Is Fred a prize or a menace?” Jacket cover excerpt, Harper Collins, 2008
Ages 9 and up	Cryptid Hunters by Roland Smith, 348 pages “After their parents are lost in an accident, thirteen-year-old twins Grace and Marty are whisked away to live with their uncle Wolfe-an uncle that they didn’t even know they had. The intimidating Uncle Wolfe is a veterinarian who has dedicated his life to finding cryptids-mysterious creatures whose existence has never been proven. Just as the twins and their uncle are getting to know one another, Wolfe finds out that his nemesis, Dr. Blackwood, is headed to a Congolese jungle to poach a dinosaur and her clutch. Wolfe has to mobilize his team immediately, if he wants to beat Blackwood to the jungle. And his team does not include the twins. But Grace and Marty aren’t easily left behind. With breakneck daring, they literally drop into the Congo…Now the twins must play a high-stakes game, where the prize is a dinosaur egg, and the penalty, death.” Jacket cover excerpt, Hyperion Books for Children, 2005
Ages 9 and up	Cabin on Trouble Creek by Jean Van Leeuwen, 219 pages “Daniel and Will have plenty of food and supplies to last them five or six weeks, while Pa returns home to fetch the rest of the family. That is the plan, and Daniel-almost twelve now-is proud that Pa can count on him and his younger brother to look after their small clearing until Pa returns. The year is 1803, and as a family they are leaving their home in the Eat to settle the rich forestland in the brand-new state of Ohio. But for now the brothers are alone, with no neighbors for miles. Pa had to take their only musket, leaving the boys an axe and two knives for chopping wood, and defending themselves if need be…In fact, there’s another worry, so disturbing that Daniel hardly dares think about it… What will he and Will do for food if Pa and the family don’t arrive before the harsh winter sets in?” Jacket cover excerpt, Penguin Young Readers, 2004
Ages 9 and up	Ice Drift by Theodore Taylor, 224 pages "The year is 1868, and fourteen-year-old Alika and his younger brother, Sulu,are hunting for seals on an ice floe attached to their island in the Arctic. Suddenly the ice starts to shake, and they hear a loud crack-the terrible sound of the floe breaking free from land. The boys watch with horror as the dark expanse of water between the ice and the shore rapidly widens, and they start drifting south-away from their home, their family, and everything they’ve every known." Jacket cover excerpt, Harcourt Books, 2005
Ages 9 and up	Blue Wolf by Catherine Creedon, 182 pages "Things have been strange for Jamie Park since the death of his mother a few months ago. He doesn’t fit in at school, and it is difficult to talk to his father, a well-know Korean scientist. Now things are getting stranger: His aunt Louise has written him a letter. The trouble is, he never knew he had an aunt, let alone an aunt Louise. But when she shows up at the door and invites him to leave Seattle and spend the summer with her, he impulsively accepts.   Her isolated cabin, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, lacks both electricity and running water. But Jamie soon leans to appreciate the near-wild existence he shares with his unusual aunt. He spends his mornings gathering food and chopping wood and his afternoons running. His happy routine is disturbed, however, by the unexpected arrival of two strangers, the shadowy presence of wolves, and the disappearance of Louise. A finely carved bon flute that she has taught him to play seems to be the key to these strange occurrences. Gradually, he realize that there is a purpose to his visit, and as he exposes the truth, Jamie risks his own safety and face a life-transforming decision." Jacket cover excerpt, HarperCollins, 2003
Ages 9 and up	The Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, 195 pages “Green trees and blue lakes fill Brian Robeson’s vision as he flies-in a single engine plane-to visit his father for the first time since his parents’ divorce…He knows why his mother left his father, and is obsessed by his knowledge of the The Secret. This knowledge haunts him-even after the plane crashes in the Canadian wilderness and he is left, the lone survivor, on a rugged piece of land that juts out into the water.” Jacket cover excerpt, Simon and Schuster, 1987
Ages 9 and up	My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George, 177 pages “Sam Gribley is tired of living in a crowded New York City apartment, so he runs away to the Catskill Mountain wilderness to forge a life of his own. With only a penknife, a ball of cord, an ax, $40, and some flint and stell, he must rely on his ingenuity and on the resources of the land to survive. And survive he does. This is Sam’s fascinating account of his life in the wild and what he learns about the wilderness-and himself-in the process.” Back cover excerpt, E.P. Dutton, 1988, text copyright 1959