Surviving Moose Lake (Kids vs. Nature Book 1)

By Karl Steam

Getting placed in a lousy group for a class assignment is bad enough, but it’s a thousand times worse when you get stranded in the wilderness with that group. Will Josh and three of his sixth-grade classmates have the skills they need to survive the wild? Will they all make it home alive?

Surviving Moose Lake is the first book of the Kids vs. Nature series. It provides an entertaining mixture of danger, adventure, factual information, and life lessons that are best learned in the great outdoors—far away from adults and school classrooms.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Karl Steam
• Release date: Aug 16, 2018
• ISBN: 9781635780079

Karl Steam

Karl Steam is a children’s author and illustrator. Some of his works include the Kids vs. Nature series and Purple Pup. He resides in the Lakes Region of the Upper Midwest, with his wife and four children.Karl enjoys fishing, camping, and traveling. Oh yeah, he likes to write too.

Book preview

Chapter 1:

The Beginning

I still remember when it all started. It was the last week of sixth grade, the morning John Marten stuck his foot in front of Tyler. Tyler fell and a deck of playing cards scattered across the hallway.

John didn’t even stop to enjoy his evil deed, but called over his shoulder, Watch where you’re going Blob.

It’s not just John who calls him that. Tyler’s been nicknamed The Blob since second grade. Why? I don’t know. Probably because he’s overweight, wears sweat pants every day, and dips whatever the lunch ladies serve us in ranch dressing. Even French toast! Nasty, right?

That’s the main reason he sits alone in the cafeteria; no one can stand to watch him eat. Not that he seems to mind. It gives him plenty of room to spread his cards out—the kind that have pictures of wizards and dragons on them.

They’re probably the same cards that scattered across the hallway when John tripped him. Tyler crawled on the floor, trying to pick them up before too many people stepped on them. I tip-toed around the cards the best I could, but the hall was busy and narrow.

John was still smiling as we entered our classroom. I knew John wasn’t a very nice guy, but lately, my best friend Mark has been hanging around him a lot. Since me and Mark pretty much do everything together, I’ve been spending more time around John too, so now I really know just how mean he can be.

Like normal, Melisa Bay was already done with the bell-work questions. My teacher, Mrs. Emmons, always has questions written on the chalk board when we come to class. We’re supposed to sit and answer the questions right away so that they’re finished by the time the bell rings, which is why she calls them bell-work questions.

I don’t have a problem sitting when we get to class, but I refuse to work on the questions. They don’t seem fair. Why should kids need to work before the bell? Classes are long enough already. After the bell is when class should start. Before the bell rings should be our time to talk and relax.

While waiting for class to start, I wondered what things would be like when sixth grade was over. Graduating from elementary school seemed to be a big deal to everyone else. There would be a graduation ceremony and everything, but I couldn’t understand why going from sixth grade to seventh grade was so different than the end of any other school year.

I tried to imagine what middle school would be like. School without recess didn’t sound fun. I wondered if there would be a lot of homework and if middle school teachers used bell-work problems too. I was feeling more and more nervous about life after sixth grade when I noticed a large trunk in the corner of the room. It was big, black, and looked heavy.

Chapter 2:

My Group

It turns out big, black, heavy looking trunks like that come from organizations that feel bad for kids that go to lame schools like Northview Elementary. Since my school never brings students on field trips, places like the Black Wagon Science