Book Review: Prepare for the Worst Case Scenario
Article by Amy van Weelderen, book review maven.
My nine year old son and I were more than thrilled to get our hands on two types of Worst Case Scenario books, for the purpose of writing this book review. Although quite different, they were both equally as good.
Book Review: Survive-O-Pedia
The Worst Case Scenario: Survive-O-Pedia Junior Edition was chock full of handy tidbits on why disasters occur and how to survive and stay calm in order to get through them. Do you know how to survive a mudslide, a shipwreck or an attack by viscous piranhas? This book will save your day and let you know how to get out of these “sticky” situations, and so much more.
The Worst Case Scenario: Survive-O-Pedia Junior Edition is not just a survival guide; it is an encyclopedia full of fun facts about extreme conditions and situations. It covers dangerous natural disasters, wild and hungry animal encounters, travel dangers and even extreme sports. If your 8+ year old reader is a big fan of gathering little bits of information about a lot of topics, this is the perfect book for them.
My son and I both loved the “fast facts”, which cover most topics with fun nuggets of information and history regarding certain precarious situations. Some of the topics were a bit frightful (how to survive an airplane crash…gulp) and some were just fun (spelunking, anyone?). My son and I loved the photos and graphics that accompanied each topic and we liked the current and up to date information provided. We hopefully will never find ourselves in an alligator attack situation but knowledge about poisonous plants, rip currents and lightening might actually come in handy someday.
Book Review: Ultimate Adventure Mars
The Worst Case Scenario Ultimate Adventure: Mars book reads more like a chapter book with the added bonus of the reader being in control of the story as they read. If your young reader is all about space and loves the call of adventure, this book is for them. If you ever read Choose Your Own Adventure books as a child, you’ll be familiar with the format.
At certain points along the space voyage you are asked to make choices that will change the story. At the start of the book, as a Junior Astronaut, you are introduced to your fellow crew members and given the Mars Expedition File. It is up to you to trust your judgement and use your new found knowledge and resources to make choices along the way, controlling the outcome of your mission. There are 24 possible endings and as the reader, you get to decide how the story will go.
What we both liked about The Worst-Case Scenario Ultimate Adventure: Mars is that it is more than just one book. You can read and re-read it and come up with different paths and choose different endings. The stories are sophisticated enough for kids eight and up, and the book challenges the reader to recall important information they have learned along the way that will safely carry them onward in the adventure.
Overall, we really enjoyed this book. My son enjoyed being part of the space team and I liked that it encouraged self-confidence and creativity while producing your own adventure.
Amy van Weelderen is the founder of Lullaby League, a service that connects busy families with high-quality babysitters. Her nin year old son helped with this review.
