View source for Six Days Inside A Mountain by Louane K Beyer

{{infobox1
|title=Six Days Inside A Mountain
|author=Louane K Beyer
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=Two boys are lost in the forest and then have to spend six days inside a mountain.  It's an interesting look at survival and encouragement for every child to learn some of the basic techniques.
|rating=3
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Yes
|pages=108
|publisher=Xlibris
|date=March 2012
|isbn=978-1469166483
|cover=1469166488
|aznuk=1469166488
|aznus=1469166488
}}

On the day after his thirteenth birthday Peter and his younger brother, ten-year-old Andy, set off on an adventure.  Peter's parents had given him a pellet rifle for his birthday and he and Andy were heading out in search of game.  They lived near the Rocky Mountains in an area where game was plentiful and they set off early because they'd promised to be home by 4.30.  There's something about the mixture of boys, a rifle, targets and a forest which ''isn't'' conducive to getting home on time and before Andy thought to look at his watch they were late - and they were lost.

Then there was the fire.  When they realised that they would have no way of getting out of the forest and would have to stay the night they built a fire not least because it would keep the wolves away from their flimsy camp.  They took it in turn to stay awake and feed the fire, but then the surrounding trees caught fire and the boys had to run for their lives and took sanctuary in a cave.  They'd learned the lesson of getting lost in the forest and as they explored deeper and deeper into the cave they made sure that they left markers so that they could find their way out again.

This story is a splendid illustration to any young person (or their parent) of just how useful boy scout training can be.  The boys are tremendously resourceful in terms of using what they have in their backpacks and in adapting ''knowledge'' which they've acquired.  I wasn't entirely sure about the efficacy of using aspirin to purify water as I've never heard of this and couldn't validate it from elsewhere, but there are some useful survival tips which serve to point up the difficulties which the boys encounter.

Louane Beyer wrote this book for and with input from her grandchildren.  How cool is that?  Imagine having a book where some of the names will be familiar to you and where you said that you wanted the boys to be rescued by aliens.  Imagine too seeing a book in print where you've helped with the illustrations.  That's an amazing gift and one which it would be great to pass on to your children when they're of an age to appreciate it.

For non-family members it works less well, but it's still an enjoyable and exciting book.  Peter and Andy are two likeable characters but their dialogue is occasionally rather wooden and I really wanted to hear more of what they had to say to each other.  Beyer has a history as a storyteller and this is her first venture into print.  She's writing a sequel to ''Six Days Inside a Mountain'' and I reckon that she has some very lucky grandchildren.

I'd like to thank the author for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

For more on survival we can recommend [[Serious Survival: How to Poo in the Arctic and Other Essential Tips for Explorers]].

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