Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Castaways: Stories of Survival
 
 
Tell the Publisher!
I'd like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Castaways: Stories of Survival [Library Binding]

Gerald Hausman (Author)


Available from these sellers.


Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Hardcover --  
Library Binding, June 17, 2003 --  

Book Description

9 and up

How can a castaway survive on a tiny island that's nothing but sand -- no fresh water, no vegetation, no animals, just sand? How can another manage to face down a crocodile, a shark, and the bizarre beasts that roam his stange deserted island and prey on his imagination? And what can a third do when he finds himself adrift one hundred miles from land, surrounded by ocean and sky -- and ghosts?

Here are six unforgettable tales of people who are set upon by raging weather, swooping seas, hunger, thirst, wild animals, overwhelming loneliness, and, harshest of all, thier own inner demons. Based on historical accounts and legends and seasoned with Gerald Hausmann's own experiences as a Sea Scout and long-distance swimmer, these exciting stories are fired with desperation, chilled with haunting breezes . . . and warmed by the sweet peace of survival.


Customers Who Viewed This Item Also Viewed


Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-9-These six stories were inspired by tales of real people who survived shipwrecks. In 1540, Peter Serrano, a Spanish traveler, was marooned on a barren island near Peru and survived by eating sea turtles and using their shells for shade and shelter. In the 1940s, 15-year-old Henri Roi's swimming prowess made him a legend. In the water with shipmates after their boat capsizes, Henri says, "We gonna make it.- I not gonna let you drown. I got the Great Maker in my heart and King Neptune in my bones; I can swim forever. This sea, this angry sea, is nothing to me." The teen's story is told in colorful language and with the dramatic flair of a storyteller. Ghosts and mythical creatures appear throughout the stories, especially in "The Beasts of Philip Ashton," in which the castaway succumbs to madness trying to ward off the night beasts and day beasts. A story about Logan Welsh and a ghostly encounter with the Pinta is loosely based on the real adventures of Joshua Slocum. While some stories are stronger than others, this collection would make a good read-aloud for middle grades.
Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. A moderately engaging group of six tales, each based, however tenuously, on historical or first-person accounts, with clear endnotes about what was taken from sources and what the author invented. The stories have a curiously flat tone, but drinking turtle's blood ("The Turtle Island of Peter Serrano"), being saved by ghosts ("The Modern Mariner and the Pilot of the Pinta"), and living as the sole survivor of a shipwreck ("The Widow Carey's Chickens") do have their appeal, especially for readers steeped in Survivor lore and pirate films. Where these stories really come to pulsing life is in descriptions of endurance swimming at sea: Hausman is himself a long-distance swimmer, and the vividness of those passages is riveting. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

  • Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  • Library Binding: 160 pages
  • Publisher: Greenwillow; 1 edition (June 17, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0060085991
  • ISBN-13: 978-0060085995
  • Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.2 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,705,918 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am an inveterate storyteller, which is to say: I love to do it, am helpless not to do it, and I do it all the time, even when I am by myself there is an inner monologue going on in my head. This habit of privately roving around in the land of legends is something I've done for as long as I can remember. My mom worried about me when she saw that I spent too much time by myself. I would creep into a closet and close the door and in the silence of the darkness I would spin tales of all kinds. I was never lonely as a kid because I had the imagination of a wild thing, and I was content to play in the fields and valleys and secret caves of that imaginary world.

Customer Reviews


There are no customer reviews yet.
Video reviews
Video reviews
Amazon now allows customers to upload product video reviews. Use a webcam or video camera to record and upload reviews to Amazon.



Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
In 1540, off the coast of Peru, a violent storm boiled out of the sea and sank the galleon Maria d'Or. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Keziah Coffin, Logan Welsh, Fancy Free, Henri Roi, Peter Serrano, Captain Hapchance, Tom Osceola, James Moffett, Philip Ashton, Wanted Wilson, New York
New!
Concordance | Text Stats
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums



So You'd Like to...


Create a guide


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject