# Books about survival assigned in US schools

**33** books in the US-school assigned-reading canon explore _survival_. Sourced from state ELA standards, AP/IB syllabi, and Common Core exemplar lists.

**Lexile range:** 560L–1120L
**Grade span:** 2–12
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/theme/survival
**Wikipedia (entity):** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survival
**License:** [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — please credit ReadingList.school when citing.

## Authors who explore survival

- [Alan Gratz](https://readinglist.school/author/alan-gratz) (2 books)
- [Ben Mikaelsen](https://readinglist.school/author/ben-mikaelsen) (2 books)
- [Gary Paulsen](https://readinglist.school/author/gary-paulsen) (2 books)
- [Suzanne Collins](https://readinglist.school/author/suzanne-collins) (2 books)
- [Jennifer A. Nielsen](https://readinglist.school/author/jennifer-a-nielsen)
- [Lauren Tarshis](https://readinglist.school/author/lauren-tarshis)
- [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://readinglist.school/author/laurie-halse-anderson)
- [Linda Sue Park](https://readinglist.school/author/linda-sue-park)

## survival canon

- [A Long Walk to Water](https://readinglist.school/book/a-long-walk-to-water) by Linda Sue Park _(720L · Grades 5–8)_
- [Code Name Kingfisher](https://readinglist.school/book/code-name-kingfisher) by Liz Kessler _(Grades 4–8)_
- [Cryptid Hunters](https://readinglist.school/book/cryptid-hunters) by Roland Smith _(Grades 5–8)_
- [Fever 1793](https://readinglist.school/book/fever-1793) by Laurie Halse Anderson _(Grades 2–8)_
- [Hatchet](https://readinglist.school/book/hatchet) by Gary Paulsen _(1020L · Grades 5–8)_
- [How to Survive Your Murder](https://readinglist.school/book/how-to-survive-your-murder) by Danielle Valentine _(Grades 9–12)_
- [I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912](https://readinglist.school/book/i-survived-the-sinking-of-the-titanic-1912) by Lauren Tarshis _(590L · Grades 2–5)_
- [Iceberg](https://readinglist.school/book/iceberg) by Jennifer A. Nielsen _(Grades 3–7)_
- [Island of the Blue Dolphins](https://readinglist.school/book/island-of-the-blue-dolphins) by Scott O'Dell _(1000L · Grades 4–7)_
- [Life of Pi](https://readinglist.school/book/life-of-pi) by Yann Martel _(830L · Grades 9–12)_
- [Maus: A Survivor's Tale](https://readinglist.school/book/maus) by Art Spiegelman _(Grades 9–12)_
- [Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helens](https://readinglist.school/book/mountain-of-fire) by Rebecca E. Barone _(Grades 4–8)_
- [Night](https://readinglist.school/book/night) by Elie Wiesel _(590L · Grades 9–12)_
- [Old Yeller](https://readinglist.school/book/old-yeller) by Fred Gipson _(Grades 5–8)_
- [Red Midnight](https://readinglist.school/book/red-midnight) by Ben Mikaelsen _(Grades 3–8)_
- [Refugee](https://readinglist.school/book/refugee) by Alan Gratz _(800L · Grades 5–9)_
- [Salt to the Sea](https://readinglist.school/book/salt-to-the-sea) by Ruta Sepetys _(560L · Grades 8–12)_
- [Sky's End](https://readinglist.school/book/skys-end) by Marc J. Gregson _(Grades 7–12)_
- [Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe](https://readinglist.school/book/smack-dab-in-the-middle-of-maybe) by Jo Watson Hackl _(Grades 4–7)_
- [Sunrise on the Reaping](https://readinglist.school/book/sunrise-on-the-reaping) by Suzanne Collins _(Grades 7–12)_
- [That's Not My Name](https://readinglist.school/book/thats-not-my-name) by Megan Lally _(Grades 9–12)_
- [The Call of the Wild](https://readinglist.school/book/the-call-of-the-wild) by Jack London _(1120L · Grades 6–10)_
- [The Cay](https://readinglist.school/book/the-cay) by Theodore Taylor _(Grades 5–8)_
- [The Doom Stone](https://readinglist.school/book/the-doom-stone) by Paul Zindel _(Grades 6–9)_
- [The Forbidden Book](https://readinglist.school/book/the-forbidden-book) by Sacha Lamb _(Grades 7–12)_
- [The Hunger Games](https://readinglist.school/book/the-hunger-games) by Suzanne Collins _(810L · Grades 6–9)_
- [The Maze Runner](https://readinglist.school/book/the-maze-runner) by James Dashner _(Grades 7–12)_
- [The River](https://readinglist.school/book/the-river) by Gary Paulsen _(Grades 5–8)_
- [The Wild Robot](https://readinglist.school/book/the-wild-robot) by Peter Brown _(740L · Grades 4–6)_
- [Touching Spirit Bear](https://readinglist.school/book/touching-spirit-bear) by Ben Mikaelsen _(Grades 6–9)_
- [Two Degrees](https://readinglist.school/book/two-degrees) by Alan Gratz _(Grades 5–8)_
- [Under the Surface](https://readinglist.school/book/under-the-surface) by Diana Urban _(Grades 7–12)_
- [Unwind](https://readinglist.school/book/unwind) by Neal Shusterman _(Grades 8–12)_

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_Generated from primary-source citations indexed on ReadingList.school. JSON API: https://readinglist.school/api/theme/survival · HTML view: https://readinglist.school/theme/survival._