Series - Survival

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Language:	English
Publishers:	Heinemann Library -- United Kingdom Ideals Children's Books -- United States
Categories:	Complexity Level : Intermediate (Some Game Elements) Format : Hardback Game System : Scores Genre : Contemporary Fiction Genre : Programmed Instruction Target Age Group : Younger Children Writing Style : Present Tense Writing Style : Second Person
Translated Into:	dòng wù qiú shēng shù [動物求生術] (Chinese) Erlebnis Tierwelt (German) Pas på! (Danish) Sobrevive (Spanish) Survie (French) Survival (Italian)

These extremely brief large-format gamebooks allow the reader to take on the roles of various wild animals. Although aimed at young children, the books do include a mechanism for keeping score – certain sections award points, and readers are encouraged to compare scores with one another to see who did the best; in the case of a tie, the player who used the fewest moves to achieve his or her score is the winner.

Gamebooks

1. Could You Be a Deer?
2. Could You Be a Fox?
3. Could You Be an Otter?
4. Could You Be a Squirrel?
5. Could You Be a Frog?
6. Could You Be a Mouse?

User Comments

These little gamebooks are particularly pictorial, designed to immerse young readers in the mindset of a given animal focused on prosperous survival. The visually-directed design has readers literally select a location visually; writing is sparse for the most part, along the lines of "go to this place by turning to that page". It's an interesting combination of putting oneself in the position of this creature with some real educational value to it, though the series suffers from short length and insufficient replay value. Still, these books - despite the bleak and somewhat depressing subject matter - are clearly created with an excellent idea, and while it's a bit tough to recommend these books because it lacks the shelf life it might've had had it been written for less of an entry-level readership, the series does deserve credit for its innovation and sincere aspirations.

--Shadeheart