Find out what Mumsnetters thought of Bear Grylls Adventure series for children

My 7 year old son was excited to get The Blizzard Challenge in the post. He hadn't heard of Bear Grylls but was interested that he is Chief Scout.

Good story, well written and held his interest. I read it to him but I'm sure he could have managed it by himself.

I like these type of short chapter books, just what we're looking for at the moment. We will get The Desert Challenge next.

My DD is 6 and I am reading this to her as her bedtime story. We got sent the Desert Book.

We are only 3 chapters in but she is enjoying it and always asks for one more page...

She knows of Bear Grylls through her big brother so is interested in how the story develops now he has turned up.

I do think that my DD could read this herself but is still a little reluctant to read independently. Hoping this will spark some interest and her request for one more page will lead to her carrying on reading after I've left her room!

I received 'The Desert Challenge' and read it to my 5 year old boy/girl twins. They have no interest in football so quickly lost interest in the first chapter, but my daughter stuck with it and we are now half way through. It is the first time I am reading her a longer book and am impressed how it is holding her interest. I think the premise for the story is good and like that the lead character is going to face some challenges and overcome her fears, a good life lesson for us all!

Thank you for the book! My son is a bit young for it being only 3 but I have read a few pages at a time and so far he likes the story. I'm sure when he gets older he will appreciate the book more.

I like that idea poupee, a comic version would be a great idea!!

Wanted this for my 9 yr old who loves watching Bear Grylls survival skills, I didn't know this but apparently it's something they watch at school (have no idea why...).
Anyway book arrived while we were away so we are a bit late to the post.
On receiving the book and reading some of the posts I decided to read it to my 6 yr old, she loves the story, we are up to the desert bit.
She wishes there were more pictures and I have to agree, maybe there needs to be a comic version. It was easy for me to imagine a desert but not so easy for my daughter to imagine the heat and thirst.
Loving it so far.

hi,
thanks mumsnet for the copy of the blizzard challenge. read the book as bedtime story with my 8 year old daughter Martha, over a couple of nights. she likes the usual stuff - roald dahl, horrid henry books, wimpy kid, dork diaries etc and her favourite book is the adventures of mabel jones by will mabbit (the mabel jones books are brilliant!)
we read this together and I was not gripped by the start, we found it slow going and the extremely instructional description of putting the tent up was pretty boring. we persevered and were glad that we had because once the blizzard section started Martha was hooked. I had assumed that it was going to be a fairly standard kids adventure that Bear had added his name to, but it became clear that along with the adventure he was really trying to ram home some useful tips on trekking and being outdoors. Martha really enjoyed this aspect and we kept stopping to chat about why the characters might be doing certain things before it was revealed.
its not a great work of fiction, the descriptions of surroundings and feelings are basic - its pretty dry but having seen Bear on tv I think it sounds very much like his voice - straight to the point. its very accessible and Martha found the story exciting with the real tips really interesting. she has read it again on her own and I would definitely encourage her to read more in the series.

DS7 and 9 both enjoyed the Blizzard Challenge. They're not particularly into outdoorsy stuff and dont know who Bear is so I guess that's a good sign that the books have wide appeal

Thank you for our copy of the Blizzard Challenge, my seven year old son was very excited to read it. We read it over a few nights at bedtime. He really enjoyed it and is keen to read another. He watches Bear on the tv and think that helped his enjoyment of the book.
I liked the fact that there were some survival skills to learn in amongst the story and would happily read another with him.

Thanks very much for The Blizzard Challenge. I read this with my DS, who is 7 and is now used to chapter books. It was a good level for him to read alone, and in fact, when I gave it to him he was excited and did read the first couple of chapters to himself, but at the moment he generally prefers reading aloud with parents at bedtime so we did that.

He doesn't know Bear Grylls but was interested to hear about his background. He really engaged with the story and said he found it exciting, particularly when Olly falls through the ice, and that he learned a bit about survival techniques. So generally it was a hit for him.

I liked the overall message about the need to try hard to be a success, but I must admit I found some of the facts a bit levered into the story, it was like Bear was turning to camera to make a speech every time he opened his mouth, rather than actually engaging with the boy properly. More naturalistic dialogue would have worked better. However, this is my issue – my DS, who reads a lot of non-fiction anyway, didn't mind!

I just wanted to follow up on our comments from a couple of weeks ago to say that during the Easter hols she went and bought herself the first one as she enjoyed the other so much! Thanks again MN.

.... plus, as a seal of approval from our young one --->

"This book is TOP, TOP, TOP!! Bear Grylls is ultra-cool ... I want to be in the next adventure!!!"

BEAR GRYLLS ADVENTURES: THE DESERT CHALLENGE.

Many thanks to Mumsnet / Picadilly Press for a copy of this. This is the second in the new series of terrific children’s books by the legendary Bear Grylls .

In this story, we join Sophie at what might be the best adventure camp ever. Her team are winning the challenges, and she is having great fun. But her phobia of insects and all things creepy-crawly threaten to ruin everything. After embarrassing herself at having screamed at a cranefly, she runs off, wanting time alone. And she is not happy to be discovered by a boy that she had seen before at camp. However, the boy (who we recognise from ‘The Blizzard Challenge’, the previous book in the series) gifts her a magic compass, proclaiming that it is “her adventure”, and that it will help her. Sure enough, she is whisked off to a barren desert where she must learn to conquer her fear if she is to survive. But she will not have to do it alone - Chief Scout Bear Grylls is there to guide her.

This is a fantastic read, encouraging young readers to confront and conquer their fears and problems. Like the Bear Grylls TV shows, the story is highly educational, being packed with many essential survival tips. An entertaining adventure, with the cartoon illustrations by Emma McCaan additionally serving to enhance the reading experience.

Undoubtedly a top series of books, they will work well for young readers of both gender, and will sure to leave them wanting more.

My DS (age 7) says:

"I loved the part about Bear killing a scorpion and finding a deadly venomous snake. I enjoyed the book and read it in two days. It was funny and amazing"

Received my book today as we were away, so excited to start reading it

Thank you for the copy of the desert challenge that we received,

Dd is 5, a real princess lover and scared of bugs, so I thought she might identify herself to a character other than a princess,

Sadly the cover didn't really appealed to her, we read it together as she found a few words tricky, she got into the story by the end of the book, but I can see that she wouldn't have chosen the book by herself if given the choice.

I will keep it and maybe get it out again when she is a little older.

Thanks again

Thank you for our copy of Desert Challenge. I thought it was a lovely
little book for introducing Bear Grylls' adventures to children. It's well written and easy to read. My little ones (who since like to be called my little adventurers), loved the book and the lovely accompanying illustrations. They have given it a thumbs up and have asked for the others in the series to be added to their book reading collection. From my little adventurers and me thank you again!

I received a copy of the desert challenge. I'd hoped we would get because my little girl is called Sophie. She is nearly three and so still interested in books with more colour and shine. I did personally think the book felt cheaper quality.

We enjoyed the story and I think it's principles are great for children. My daughter likes the front cover and because it's a namesake she asks for the story to be repeated. I think when she is older she will understand the meaning and importance more. From an adult perspective it was a nice read just less engaging from an aesthetics point of view.

Thought I posted feedback but couldn't find it?! Here goes again. My 5 year old daughter wasn't impressed by the front cover and said she didn't really like it, mainly because of the bug on front. We have the desert challenge. I encouraged her to listen to some pages and she said I actually really like it. Quite simply written and my daughter is enjoying the pictures. It's a completely different type of book to what my daughter would normally have hence wanting to trial it. Hopefully she will now try and read some different styles of book. Thank you for sending it to us 😀.

After finding the first few chapters of Blizzard a bit drawn out, it does appear to have improved. The kids are enjoying it and liked learning about hypothermia. I agree with the previous poster about becoming 'rather weary of the unrelenting accounts of multitudinous ways to die in the cold.' I'd maybe buy another to try but on the fence at the mo.

I preread the Desert Challenge and I didn't think it would interest my 5 year old but he really enjoyed it. We read a few chapters at a time together - he has no idea who Bear is and he was always eager to get to the next bit of the story. We visited sand dunes at the beach over the Easter holidays and put some of our new survival skills into practise. He is keeping the book to read again in the future and I will look out for the other adventure books to share with him too

I read The Desert Challenge with my son, age 6. He found it very exciting and could relate to it as he's seen Bear on the TV. He wasn't put off by a girl main character and thought 'she was awesome', so a hit! We will look out for the other books in the series.

As soon as I opened the package, my daughter asked that we go upstairs to read it.
She loved it!
We received: The Desert Challange
I thought it was quirky that Bear makes an appearance and empowers Sophie.
Great book for inclusion, team work and self belief

Thank you for our copy of The Blizzard Challenge. I read it to my five year old DS over the course of a few days. He seemed to enjoy it, and was certainly keen for us to read on and find out what happened, although I think he became, at times, rather weary of the unrelenting accounts of multitudinous ways to die in the cold. Perhaps if he were a bit older he may have gained more from it. I like the basic premise of the series, though, so will happily read more should he wish to.

Hi we received the Blizzard challenge. It has been devoured by my daughter, read to my son & my nephew has borrowed it too. We are fans of Bear's (suitable!) programmes in our house as it is. Think it is great that he has written books aimed at the young explorers. Thank you so much for selecting us!