Van Leeuwen, Jean. Cabin on Trouble Creek. Puffin, 2008 (reprint). ISBN 978-0142411643 219 pp. $7.99

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In Cabin on Trouble Creek by Jean Van Leeuwen, Pa and Daniel and Will travel west to the new state of Ohio to build a cabin where the family will settle. When the cabin is just about finished, Pa leaves the two boys with plenty of supplies to last for about five or six weeks and heads back to Pennsylvania to get the rest of the family. Daniel and Will continue chinking the walls of the cabin, work on the fireplace and become expert fishermen in the nearby creek.

Two weeks pass and then three weeks and four and five and six. No sign of Pa, Ma and the other little ones. The nights and then days become chillier and before they know it, Daniel and Will are in the middle of winter and struggling to survive. Fortunately, an native Indian man named Solomon befriends them and teaches them some important lessons which help them survive the winter. With Solomon’s survival lessons and their own problem-solving skills, Daniel and Will take each problem they face and work out answers together. This is a good recommendation for those young readers who liked Hatchet, Climb or Die, and other survival stories.