iso tween/teen adventure novels or historical fiction without violence

[rose]

Ds 13 was lamenting a lack of adventure stories,--true, embellished truth or straight fiction that doesn't include violence on the part of the main characters. I don't really care if these are quality literature or just some fun twaddle but I need suggestions for all sorts. He's enjoyed stories of explorers and homesteader/cowboy books like the Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy series. He really liked Kon-Tiki. He appreciated Hatchet (although he thought that Brian was too much of stupid, city boy :) ) and My Side of the Mountain too. These might be a little young for him at this point.

[Lori D.]

What about Jules Verne titles? (Around the World in Eighty Days; Mysterious Island; Journey to the Center of the Earth; 20,000 Leagues Beneath the Seat; etc.)

 

classics 

Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Twain)

The Lost World (Doyle)

 

tall tale adventure

Twenty-One Balloons (DuBois)

By the Great Horn Spoon (Fleischman)

 

animals & adventure

White Fang (London)

Gentle Ben (Morey) -- and others by this author

Big Red (Kjelgaard) -- and others by this author

Summer of the Monkeys (Rawls)

Black Stallion series (Farley)

 

historical adventure

The Golden Goblet (McGraw)

Moccasin Trail (McGraw)

The Great Wheel (Lawson)

The Great Turkey Walk (Karr)

 

realistic or survival adventure

Carry On Mr. Bowditch (Latham)

Little Britches series (Moody)

Down River; River Thunder (Hobbs)

Banner in the Sky (Ullman)

 

non-fiction adventure

Iditarod Adventures (Freedman)

The Colditz Story (Reid) -- first of the 2-in-1 volume Escape From Colditz

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage (Lansing)

 

You might find something in these past threads: 

"Can you recommend a survival story for a 13yo boy?"

"Travel/Journey/Adventure themed books"-- classics; some have some battles and fighting, like Beowulf, The Odyssey, or The Lord of the Rings, but fighting/violence is not the major theme or focus of these classics

Edited February 8, 2017 by Lori D.

[JudoMom]

Nick of Time?

[rose]

Lori:

 

In one of the threads that you linked to you had posted this list of books:

 

grade 5-8 range, closer to the older end:

- Island of the Blue Dolphins (O'Dell) -- young woman survival story on an island alone, based on true story

- Broken Blade (Durbin) -- young teen must take his father's place on a year 1800 canoe exploration trip

- Walk the World's Rim (Baker) -- Spanish conquistadors in the New World turns into more about survival

 

grade 7+

- Lost in the Barrens (Mowat) -- 2 brothers surviving in the Arctic

- Banner in the Sky (Ullman) -- overcoming the mountain peak that his father died on

- I am David (Holm) -- boy escapes a 1960s communist camp and must cross Eastern Europe alone to freedom

- The King's Fifth (O'Dell) -- Spanish conquistadors in the New World turns into more about survival

- Julie of the Wolves (George) -- teen girl in the Alaskan tundra; there is one brief non-graphic moment that is the reason she is in the wilderness surviving -- the teen she is going to be forced to marry pushes her down with the intent of forcing her to had s*x -- it could pass over the head...

 

classics, or high school level

- Robinson Crusoe (Dafoe) -- the original shipwreck survival story

- Captains Courageous (Kipling) -- pampered boy falls overboard, learns to earn his keep on the fishing boat that rescued him

- Kon Tiki (Heyersdahl) -- non-fiction; 6 men in the 1940s recreate a log raft and sail from South America to South Pacific islands

- Swiss Family Robinson (Wyss) -- 1800s family shipwreck survival story 

- True Spirit (Watson) -- 16yo girl who sailed around the world in 2010

- Dove (Graham) -- autobiography of 18-year who sailed around the world in the 1960s

- Sailing Alone Around the World (Slocum) -- man who sailed around the world in the the 1800s

 

Some of these look great, especially the high school level books. Would you be able to quote this list and strike through any that have much violence?

[Lori D.]

Lori:

 

In one of the threads that you linked to you had posted this list of books:

 

Some of these look great, especially the high school level books. Would you be able to quote this list and strike through any that have much violence?

 

Just an FYI -- I can't quote something already in in the greyed quote box. ;) So, I copy-pasted that list below.

 

While I haven't read ALL of these to know about content, the only ones that I *think* might require a little more research and double-checking re: possible violence would be those I marked with red. Of those 3, I have read Walk the World's Rim and The King's Fifth, and there are some Indian/Conquistador conflicts in both of those, but what more stood out to me was how 16th Europeans trying to survive the harsh environment are driven to the brink of madness.

 

You can also read a number of pages on Amazon's website with the "look inside" feature, which can sometimes help you preview. Hope something there is of help! Warmest regards, Lori D.

 

 

grade 5-8 range, closer to the older end:

- Island of the Blue Dolphins (O'Dell) -- young woman survival story on an island alone, based on true story

- Broken Blade (Durbin) -- young teen must take his father's place on a year 1800 canoe exploration trip

- Walk the World's Rim (Baker) -- Spanish conquistadors in the New World turns into more about survival

 

grade 7+

- Lost in the Barrens (Mowat) -- 2 brothers surviving in the Arctic

- Banner in the Sky (Ullman) -- overcoming the mountain peak that his father died on

- I am David (Holm) -- boy escapes a 1960s communist camp and must cross Eastern Europe alone to freedom

- The King's Fifth (O'Dell) -- Spanish conquistadors in the New World turns into more about survival

- Julie of the Wolves (George) -- teen girl in the Alaskan tundra; there is one brief non-graphic moment that is the reason she is in the wilderness surviving -- the teen she is going to be forced to marry pushes her down with the intent of forcing her to had s*x -- it could pass over the head...

 

classics, or high school level

- Robinson Crusoe (Dafoe) -- the original shipwreck survival story

- Captains Courageous (Kipling) -- pampered boy falls overboard, learns to earn his keep on the fishing boat that rescued him

- Kon Tiki (Heyersdahl) -- non-fiction; 6 men in the 1940s recreate a log raft and sail from South America to South Pacific islands

- Swiss Family Robinson (Wyss) -- 1800s family shipwreck survival story 

- True Spirit (Watson) -- 16yo girl who sailed around the world in 2010

- Dove (Graham) -- autobiography of 18-year who sailed around the world in the 1960s

- Sailing Alone Around the World (Slocum) -- man who sailed around the world in the the 1800s

Edited February 8, 2017 by Lori D.

[J-rap]

You should check out the juvenile/young adult section of biographies at your local library.  My kids were amazed when they began discovering these.  Kids who lived during WW2, and other tremendous situations.  Very inspiring too!

[Tanaqui]

Edit: Read further. Got it, not too much violence. Just off the top of my head, I can think of a few. I'll come up with more later:

 

Outrun the Moon

Dragonwings

A Pickpocket's Tale (a little young, there is some small thievery and all)

Out of Many Waters

One Crazy Summer

Bud, Not Buddy

The Mighty Miss Malone

Dave at Night

Jefferson's Sons

On Two Feet and Wings

The Birchbark House

Red Scarf Girl

Code Talkers

 

These don't all - or hardly any, really - fit the "roughing it" criteria, but they are all historical :) I've italicized the one that comes closest to fitting both categories. I can come up with a better list when I'm awake - it's 3am, and I ought to be asleep.

Edited February 8, 2017 by Tanaqui

[rose]

Edit: Read further. Got it, not too much violence. Just off the top of my head, I can think of a few. I'll come up with more later:

 

Outrun the Moon

Dragonwings

A Pickpocket's Tale (a little young, there is some small thievery and all)

Out of Many Waters

One Crazy Summer

Bud, Not Buddy

The Mighty Miss Malone

Dave at Night

Jefferson's Sons

On Two Feet and Wings

The Birchbark House

Red Scarf Girl

Code Talkers

 

These don't all - or hardly any, really - fit the "roughing it" criteria, but they are all historical :) I've italicized the one that comes closest to fitting both categories. I can come up with a better list when I'm awake - it's 3am, and I ought to be asleep.

Thanks! Historical isn't a big deal. He just prefers true or at least based on a true story to pure fiction. The roughing it stuff is one genre he likes. Primarily he just likes a good, engaging plot that isn't war related. Also, a little violence against the protagonists doesn't bother him. He's sensitive and just doesn't like when the protagonists are violent, either instigating violence or in self-defence.

 

I'm making him a big list of books that we can ask our librarian if our librarian has any of them. We'll blast through those and then look to other libraries. He was so happy that I was going to ask you all here. Thanks again! :)

[Miss Tick]

Waiting in my "to read" stack is "Lost on a Mountain in Maine" by Don Fendler. I picked it up because the author died recently and the book was featured on npr. The story was from his youth. Might be too young for your ds, though.