Great book with good illustrations. Lots of resources for kids who want to learn all they can about outdoors and survival skills. My kids would enjoy trying out every page of this book!

A wonderful book encouraging people away from screens and to gain more hours outdoors. We are completing a 1000 hours outside and this is the perfect book to help us on our journey!

This is a great little book for meeting young adventurers where they are at and teaching them very real survival skills. It talks to young people and not down at them. The book starts with the very basic information such as what clothes to wear and what you need in your kit. It then progresses through many other skills that could mean the difference in life and death. One such example of a skill is finding your way in chapter 2. It teaches you how to use a compass properly and what to do if you find you are lost. Staying put once you realize you are lost can make all the difference in how long it takes rescuers to find you. This book has many skills such as the ones mentioned above, but I won't spoil the whole book for you. If you have a young person who is wanting to learn more about the great out doors and how to survive, picking up this book would give them a great place to start.

I like that these directions aren't reduced in the name of excess caution. The idea is that a kid who is old enough to look for these sorts of directions is old enough to be trusted to use a knife and safely start a fire. Not that thees directions are given haphazardly. There are copious safety warnings. It's just better to give a kid complete, safe directions, than to leave them to experiment unaided. While not every subject is covered in depth, Grindrod gives primary focus on basic survival skills: recognizing and carrying what you need, finding clean water, building a survival shelter. Give this book to kids who want to go camping beyond a campground.

This book is great! I really loved the vibrant pictures throughout, which makes it an enjoyable read for child and adults alike. There are many how tos that have detailed instructions and pictures for each step. I especially enjoyed the knot tying section and chapter on making shelters. I was intrigued by the camp craft ideas, which seemed unique and contained detailed instructions as well. This book is jammed packed with great ideas and skills to teach.

As an American Heritage Girls unit leader, I was very interested to check this book out. Always looking for ways to enhance our outdoor skills and this book does not disappoint! So many great hints and tips along with great illustrations and photos to help those of us with visual learning styles. I'm looking forward to adding a print copy of this to my resource books!

Outdoor skills are something everyone needs to learn at some point. If you have kids and want to take them camping or hiking, read this book first. It gives an overview of some of the more necessary outdoor skills.

It has tons of illustrations that cover the skills and directions on how to do them. I thought that the illustrations were well done and showed the key points that were needed. I was even able to learn how to make a couple knots with this book. I’ve always wanted to learn the useful ones and found the directions were clear and understandable.

There are sections on most of the outdoor skills you will need when camping. There’s a good section on knife use that I learned a lot from too. I never knew the proper way to grip a knife for the various tasks. I am glad that this book emphasizes safety and that readers are encouraged to try these skills in as safe a way as possible.

How to use a compass is also covered. This is an essential skill because, even if you have a GPS, the batteries could fail or you could lose the device. So, it’s always good to know how to do it the original way.

Safely building a campfire is also an essential skill. Detailed illustrations help show the reader the concepts. Then, you have to know how to cook your food on that fire too. And how to build a shelter to keep you cozy and warm.

There is a lot of excellent information and advice packed into this book. As an adult, I learned plenty, even if the book is targeted at kids who are just learning camping skills. I think I learned quite a bit from it too.

It is written in an easy style and not too complicated. The skills are shown in pictures as well as text, so that readers can practice them on their own. Overall, I think this is a very useful book for parents who want to teach their kids these skills, or for outdoor programs who have young participants. It’s valuable information and the book format was very easy to use. Five stars.

This is a fantastic book for wilderness lovers or any kid who wants to learn more about outdoor adventures. It’s got great visuals and is an overall good guide for the outdoors

This is a well illustrated book for kids who want to learn primitive camping skills. It covers lots of skills like knot tying, using knives, building shelters, even going to the bathroom properly (types of holes to dig, what to bury, how to make a trench for a group camp, and the fact that some locations require you to take your poop back out with you). Some skills are covered really well like knife safety and knot tying, while others are sort of skimmed over. You'll need other books for information on food (foraging, fishing, cooking, etc.), first aid, weather, etc. It also doesn't really cover traditional family camping with things like setting up tents instead of tarps and primitive natural shelters. There's some diversity in the kids in the tutorials, though I wish it was better. I suspect that my 13 y/o son will like looking through this book and that my 9 y/o daughter won't, though both of them love camping, foraging, hiking and the outdoors. I don't think my older kids would get much out of it, though even adults are likely to learn some new skills.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

Wilderness Adventure Camp
Essential Outdoor Survival Skills for Kids
by Frank Grindrod
Back of the Book: “Whether in the rugged backcountry or a suburban backyard, kids can experience the sense of personal independence and self-confidence that come from outdoor proficiency, while also developing a deeper connection to and understanding of the natural world. With this skills-based book, kids learn essential safety and survival tips and bushcraft that they need to have a safe wilderness experience. Led by outdoor leader Frank Grindrod of Earthwork Programs, every turn of the page takes kids on another stage of the journey. They learn how to pack for the outdoors, navigate using a map and a compass, choose and set up a campsite, handle and use a knife properly, build a fire, tie different types of knots, make a lean-to out of sticks and leaves, and cook over an open fire. This guide teaches more than just outdoor know-how; it fosters appreciation for the natural world and pride in knowing how to use its resources as a tool for survival and adventure.”
Impressions: This book was perfect for my boys who are 5 and 9 years old. They love the outdoors and have begun learning some of these skills already. This book pulled everything together into the perfect guide for an outdoor adventure. This would be a wonderful gift for any outdoor enjoying child.
Liked: I liked all the pictures and explanations. I especially appreciated the safety advice to check your state of mind in the knife section. We let our boys use pocket knives after completing a knife safety course in Boy Scouts but it is always a good reminder to be in the right state of mind before using this tool.
Disliked: I wish the mentioned topics at the end were chapters rather than just suggested reading.
Learned: My boys learned some great survival skills, including how to make specific cuts with their pocket knifes and different knots to tie and how to use them while camping.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review which I’ve shared here.

This is a great book for kids interested in learning how to camp. It walks them through the skills and safety precautions they need to know. The book is visually appealing, as well. This will be a hit in the library with all the outdoor enthusiasts.

Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Lots of useful info for budding wilderness survivalist. I believe the book is written primarily for the youth market, but adults could find it just as readable. It explains clothing, knife skills, starting firs, using a compass (this is SOOOO important, as critical as map skills in mho), what to take and why.... It's a good straight forward read for the young adventurer. Make a good gift for a kid who loves the outdoors.

This is truly an excellent book, and not only for kids. Any adult with little outdoor experience would benefit from this book. I like the composition, in that subjects are in a necessary order, and a lot of weight is on safety, especially with knives.
The illustrations are great, with very descriptive drawings, as well as photos of kids enjoying nature.
One thing I would put differently, is the survival kit. The stuff here is regular camping-kit, and to me a survival kit is a very small pack I always carry (pocket knife, lighter, condoms for water, trap-wire, fishing hooks and line).