Can You Survive Storm Chasing? (You Choose: Survival) by Elizabeth Raum

Can You Survive Storm Chasing? (You Choose: Survival) Reviews

• 
  Sherri

  This is part of the You Choose/Can You Survive series of adventure books that puts the reader in the middle of the action. This time the reader is dropped into a storm chasing situation and forced to make choices that will hopefully lead to survival.
  
  At the end of the first chapter, readers get to choose three different types of storms to try to survive: (1) a tornado, (2) a hurricane, or (3) a flash flood. Then there are numerous possible outcomes for each of the extreme mountain locations that will lead you to survival or death.
  
  My middle school students will love this adventurous tale that's full of action and the bonus is that they will also learn real information about storms, along with some great pictures and illustrations that match the story. For example, readers learn how to escape from a submerged car.
  
  The book ends with additional useful information, including: survival tips, mini-biographies on real survivors, a survival quiz, more books to read, the Fact Hound website code to find out more internet resources on storms, a glossary, a bibliography, and an index.
• 
  Michelle Kelley

  What an excellent premise - take the interactive Choose Your Own Adventure style books (which I was a huge fan of as a kid) and set them in real-life storm chasing scenarios. They are also very visually attractive. These are great for kids who love action and the option to choose the story's path. I desperately wanted more information to be included with the storylines. As a reader, I wanted to know more about why my decision was wise (or not). I think many readers would appreciate a bit of a blurb at the bottom of the end of the storyline with a few basic facts. The context is there, readers are already hooked, why not feed kids a bit more info with a few more factual tips/information for what to do in those scenarios? It left me wanting. Still, there's some info to be gleaned, and kids will love the action-packed story options.
  
• 
  Jim Erekson

  An informational spin on the choose your own adventure structure, embedding the 2nd-person 'you' character (me) into factual scenarios of extreme weather. The choices were pretty benign, until I made a wrong one! (And ended up with a severed carotid artery from a flying shard of glass.)
  
  Elizabeth Raum did a good job of working in the real-life science work with the facts about each kind of storm. Quick pacing of the plot elements makes up for lack of development in the stock story.
  
  Just enough photos, but maybe could have used more? Back matter good for informational text. Uncertain whether bibliography items were Raum's sources or her ideas for extension texts.
• 
  Garrett

  Hilarious. Perhaps unintentionally so, but the select-your-own-outcome (non-trademarked) nature of this book with the learning about storms and interacting with catastrophe, so often leads to the reader's grisly death that I was very much entertained. I also learned a couple of things, and now my daughter is reading this book. Fun!
• 
  PumpkinPi

  A lot of good information here, probably appropriate for middle school and higher; I gave it a shot because a lot of Amazon reviews mentioned younger elementary kids enjoying them, but wow, there's a lot of violent deaths in here for an elementary kid. Definitely encourage parents to do a brief read-through before giving it to their kids; mine won't be reading them for a while.
• 
  Ali

  In this book, you get to choose you own paths to try and survive all the storms! It is so awesome!
• 
  Bella

  Maybe because it doesn't have the crispness and smell of new books
• 
  Saskia

  I never survive these, but they are fun to read! Great and engaging for those who like to choose their own path in a book. :)
• 
  Alex

  Fun as always!
• 
  teleri

  a really fun read!
• 
  Kim Hampton

  A great way to teach weather safety to kids.
• 
  Katy Lovejoy

  This is the closest I will ever get to real storm chasing
• 
  Jordyn Braun

  Can You Survive Storm Chasing? An Interactive Survival Adventure- Elizabeth Raum
  
  1. The twin text I selected for this book was Waiting Out the Storm by JoAnn Early Macken, copyright 2010.
  2. I paired Waiting Out the Storm with Can You Survive Storm Chasing? An Interactive Survival Adventure because both stories focused on different perspectives of storms. Can You Survive Storm Chasing? An Interactive Survival Adventure took the reader through an imaginary journey of storm chasing and making difficult decisions, while Waiting Out the Storm gives the perspective of a young girl asking her mother about different elements of a storm and her mother giving explanations. Both books portray storm features in unique ways!
  3. The text structure of Can You Survive Storm Chasing? An Interactive Survival Adventure was a combination of description and cause and effect. Through the whole book, the author describes different types of storms such as tornados, hurricanes, and floods. The story also includes an interactive piece where the reader can choose what they want to do next. For example, “If you want to save the local farmer, turn to page ___.” This includes the “if this… then this…” portion of cause and effect.
  4. Activating prior knowledge would be a good strategy to use with these books because students may be very familiar with storms because of past experiences, or not very familiar based on what they have seen or heard in their lives. Storms may also be a frightening subject for students and with this strategy students would be able to share about storms from all different angles.
• 
  Lgourley

  With this interactive choose your adventure type book you get to be the main character. Learn about all different types of science and weather such as a tornado, hurricane, and flash flood. While you are storm chasing will you try and help those in need? Will you only think for yourself and your own safety? Will you survive? With 19 different endings your fate lies on what page you turn to.
  
  Before you read chapter two predict what will happen to you at the end of the story.
  What changes would you have to the end of your story if you could choose a different path?
  Justify your choices that you made in each section of your story.
  Can you compare any of the storms you experienced in the story to any storms you've experienced in real life? How were they alike? Different?
  If you could ask a real storm chaser three questions what would they be?
  
  4th-5th grade
  
  Raum, E. (2012). Can You Survive Storm Chasing?: An Interactive Survival Adventure. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.
• 
  Librariansteph

  I am split on this one. What a great concept! The reader appeal is obvious. I imagine the intent is to pull in reluctant readers with the dramatic format and trick them into learning science along the way. I have two problems with this. First, extreme weather is already fairly popular with reluctant readers, so I am not sure the format is necessary. Second, it seems likely that most readers of the target audience will read one adventure and then just skim through for the blunt and sometimes gruesome endings ("a shard of glass pierces a major artery in your neck. Blood spurts from the wound." or "No one saw you slide off the roof. You drown with your face in only four inches of water.") So, as an informational text, I am not sure it is going to teach much, and is certainly not helpful for research. However, as a piece of entertainment, it is likely to have high circulation.
• 
  AnnieM

  This is great!! It's a must for anyone who lives in areas where weather happens. The information is attainable and useful. The resources at the back of the book are good for kids and adults.
  
  It shows how even if your intentions are good, decisions can kill you and the people you want to help. From downed lines to gas mains, quick decisions can make you a victim and put even more people at risk.
  
  I can wait suggest this to my patrons.
• 
  Martha

  A strong "Interactive Survival Adventure" informational text that will appeal to most readers because of the strange weather patterns this country has recently experienced. Clearly written with a variety of "You Choose" endings, this weather adventure will keep readers on their toes. This will be especially popular with boys who crave disaster titles.
• 
  Alice

  Does anyone ever choose all the endings? How much of this type of book do you think is actually read? I think these books have great appeal, I just wonder if they are ever actually followed through to all the possible endings, or of curiosity dies after the reader does...
• 
  Stephanie

  This series is great! I survived the hurricane and the tornado, but died saving a cat in the flash flood. This actually will make you remember basic survival skills.
• 
  Shelley

  I love these books for reluctant readers. They are fun yet informative with the choose your own adventure twist. So glad we purchased them for our library.
• 
  Lorie Perez

  Finally found a series that my son would read. This book was fun and engaging for the entire family. We took turns making the decisions and learned valuable does and don'ts along the way.
• 
  Heidi

  A choose your own adventure! Can you survive a tornado, hurricane and a flood? Here's your test!
• 
  Story

  great series! great book!