EPL.ca: Looking for Adventure - Books for Grades 5-8

20,000 Leagues under the Sea - Jules Verne
A French professor and his two companions sail above and below the world's oceans as prisoners on the fabulous submarine of the deranged Captain Nemo.

Adventures of Caraway Kim - Southpaw - Don Truckey*
Eleven-year-old Kim must prove his innocence after his older brother blames him for vandalism done to a vacant house on an Alberta farm.

Airborn - Kenneth Oppel*
Matt, a fifteen-year-old cabin boy aboard a luxury airship, teams up with Kate, a bold and wealthy young woman, to search for the existence of mysterious winged creatures on an alternative world much like Earth. Sequel: Skybreaker

Beyond the Deepwoods - Paul Stewart
Abandoned at birth, Twig is brought up by a family of woodtrolls in the Deepwoods. When Twig strays from the path, something no woodtroll has ever done, he begins an adventure through a nightmare world of goblins, trogs, and flesh-eating trees as he seeks to discover his true identity. First in The Edge Chronicles series

Black Stallion - Walter Farley
Young Alec Ramsay is shipwrecked on a desert island with a horse destined to play an important part in his life. First in a series.

Broken Blade - William Durbin
When an injury prevents his father from going into northern Canada with fur traders, thirteen-year-old Pierre decides to take his father's place as a voyageur. Sequel: Wintering.

Camp X - Eric Walters*
During the Second World War, two Ontario boys stumble across a strange military base while playing in the woods. Sequels: Camp 30; Camp X: Fool's Gold

Castaways: Stories of Survival - Gerald Hausman
Six short stories based on historical accounts and legends about shipwrecked people struggling to survive in difficult circumstances.

Company of Fools - Deborah Ellis*
Set in 1348 in France, Henri has lived within abbey walls all his life but when Micah arrives, his friendship and spunk help both boys get through difficult times as the Black Death sweeps the country.

Cottonmouth Club - Lance Marcum
While spending his summer vacation with relatives in Louisiana, Mitch Valentine finds himself a candidate for the Cottonmouth Club, a group of boys involved in secretive outdoor activities.

For Freedom: The Story of a French Spy - Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
During World War II, while a French teenager pursues her dream of becoming an opera singer, she gains information that the French Resistance needs.

Ghost's Grave - Peg Kehret
What Josh thought would be the dullest summer of his life, spent with his eccentric great-aunt, turns chilling when he meets the ghost of a miner.

Hatchet - Gary Paulsen
After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends fifty-four days in the Canadian wilderness, learning to survive with only the aid of a hatchet given him by his mother. Sequels: The River; Brian's Winter

Himalaya - Jonathan Neale
In alternating chapters, twelve-year-old Orrie and her older brother tell the story of a doomed mountain-climbing expedition in Nepal.

Incident at Hawk's Hill - Allan W. Eckert
A shy, lonely six-year-old wanders into the Canadian prairie and spends a summer under the protection of a badger. Sequel: Return to Hawk's Hill

Incredible Journey - Sheila Burnford*
A Siamese cat, a bull terrier and a Labrador retriever face starvation, exposure, and wild animals as they travel over 400 km across Canada to make their way home to the family they love.

Island of the Blue Dolphins - Scott O'Dell
Inspired by a true story about a young woman, Karana, who, from the time she was twelve, spent eighteen years alone on an island.

Jason's Gold - Will Hobbs
When news of the discovery of gold in the Yukon Territory reaches fifteen-year-old Jason, he embarks on a journey to strike it rich in 1897. Sequel: Down the Yukon

Lionboy - Zizou Corder
In the near future, a boy who can speak the language of cats sets out from London to seek his kidnapped parents and finds himself on a Paris-bound circus ship learning to train lions. Sequels: The Chase; The Truth

Lost in the Barrens - Farley Mowat
Two boys must face the wilderness with no food and no hope of rescue when their canoe is destroyed in rapids.

Stormbreaker - Anthony Horowitz
After the death of the uncle who had been his guardian, fourteen-year-old Alex Rider is coerced to continue his uncle's dangerous work for MI6, Britain’s intelligence agency. First in the Alex Rider adventure series.

Stowaway - Karen Hesse
A fictionalized journal based on the real life of an eleven-year-old stowaway who sailed around the world with Captain James Cook in 1768.

Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson
A young boy named Jim accompanies Long John Silver and his ruthless band of pirates through great danger in search of buried treasure.

TruckDogs: A Novel in Four Bites - Graeme Base
Two gangs of canine-like motor vehicles - the Rott Wheelers and the Mongrel Pack - have a showdown in the town of Hubcap.

True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle - Avi
As the only passenger, and the only female, on a transatlantic voyage in 1832, thirteen-year-old Charlotte finds herself caught between a murderous captain and a mutinous crew.

Wreckers - Iain Lawrence*
On the barren coast of Cornwall, England, a community lures storm-tossed ships to crash on its shore in order to salvage loot from the wreckage. Sequels: The Smugglers; The Buccaneers

Escapes - Laura Scandiffio
Ten of the most exhilarating escape stories from around the world and across the ages.

Jungle Islands: My South Sea Adventure - Maria Coffey
Encounters with sharks, giant centipedes, crocodiles, falling coconuts, and native peoples are detailed in this travelogue by two Canadian kayakers exploring the Solomon Islands.

Lost Treasures: True Stories of Discovery - Larry Verstraete
Over 80 real-life stories of amazing finds like the world’s largest gold nugget, a single stamp worth over a million dollars and a sunken fortune in gleaming coins.

To the Top of Everest - Laurie Skreslet
Reaching the top of Mount Everest came with a heavy price as the author and his expedition faced hidden crevasses, blinding snowstorms, altitude sickness and more.

Trial by Ice: A Photobiography of Sir Ernest Shackleton - K. M. Kostyal
During an expedition to Antarctica in 1915, the ship Endurance became trapped in ice and so Ernest Shackleton and his men set out on a desperate journey to save themselves.

Venturing the Deep Sea - Laurie Lindop
Meet daredevil scientists from a variety of disciplines who regularly face danger and their own fears in order to gather crucial information.