Surviving the Marathon des Sables

November 1, 2017

Gr 4-6-It's life or death in this extreme sports addition to the popular "You Choose" format. While most readers will be familiar with the wintry scenes of the Iditarod and scaling Mount Everest, the Marathon des Sables and Le Mans Auto Race might be new ground for them to cover. No matter which adventure students choose, they will end up enjoying a grueling endurance race peppered with factual takeaways about the difficulties of participating in (and surviving) extreme sports. Readers might think that adventurers climb Mount Everest in one go, but they'll learn in Surviving Mount Everest that climbers repeatedly climb up and down small segments over several days to adjust to the altitude. At the end of each book, background information and a segment called "Other Paths to Explore," which encourages kids to consider the event from outside perspectives, such as a Moroccan child observing the race in Surviving the Marathon des Sables, are included. VERDICT Bound to circulate well among upper elementary schoolers.

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