Against the Odds: Animal Attacks

by D.K. Publishing

Decodable tales of survival against the odds for striving readers aged 10–14


These short stories bring to life some of the world’s deadliest animal attacks, and how three young people beat the odds to survive them.

HMS Birkenhead Shark Attacks, 1852
The Lions of Tsavo, 1898
Sankebetsu Brown Bear Incident, 1915

Morphology Multiple suffixes

Against The Odds is a captivating series of six fictional but inspired by true events Hi-Lo chapter books tailored for striving readers aged 10–14.

Each title in this collection unravels the extraordinary experiences of young people overcoming incredible challenges. Whether it’s facing the unknown or triumphing against the odds, these stories are both riveting and inspiring.

The series is carefully written with a focus on morphology (suffixes, prefixes, and word roots/bases) which is hugely important for improving spelling and reading comprehension.
The Against The Odds series serves as a vital bridge between decodable and mainstream books, empowering readers to confidently understand meaning from text alone.

144 pages, Hardcover

Published April 1, 2025

About the author

Dorling Kindersley (DK) is a British multinational publishing company specializing in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 62 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a consumer publishing company jointly owned by Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA and Pearson PLC. Bertelsmann owns 53% of the company and Pearson owns 47%.

Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including Eyewitness Travel Guides), arts and crafts, business, history, cooking, gaming, gardening, health and fitness, natural history, parenting, science and reference. They also publish books for children, toddlers and babies, covering such topics as history, the human body, animals and activities, as well as licensed properties such as LEGO, Disney and DeLiSo, licensor of the toy Sophie la Girafe. DK has offices in New York, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne.

Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three short stories based on real animal attacks. In the 1st one, a bear starts attacking small villages in Japan in 1915. In the 2nd one, two lions are rumored to be hiding in the woods near a railroad construction site in Kenya in 1898. In the 3rd one, a girl is traveling on a ship from Ireland when she wakes in the middle of the night to a crash. They are all fast-paced, adrenaline-pumping survival stories. Great for fans of I Survived, especially because it includes new historical events. There are a few illustrations throughout but they aren't great. This one in the series focuses on morphology skills (AKA cashing in on the Science of Reading, in my opinion), so a good hi-lo book for older kids.