Survival in the Wilderness

Gr 3-7–It’s December 1920, and three white naval officers are on a routine training flight in a balloon. However, due to inclement weather, their mission goes awry, and the men end up lost in the wilderness. Lieutenants Louis Kloor, Stephen Farrell, and Walter Hinton must learn to look past their differences and cooperate. Will they be able to make it to Canada, find help, and find their way home? Or will the great outdoors, their arguments, and despair get the best of them? This well-written and effectively researched historical fiction novel is based on actual events and newspaper accounts. Otfinoski deftly weaves historical information through the plot; readers will learn more about Canadian geography, the role of carrier pigeons, the Cree people, ballooning, dogsleds, and the Hudson’s Bay Company, among other things.