"From the somewhat unlikely to the downright improbable, these entries in the Survival Guides You Didn't Know You Needed series offer up enthusiastic, if not altogether helpful, bits of advice on how to get out of some sticky situations. The best thing to do when zombies attack isn't always fight back; Surviving a Zombie Attack recommends feeding them spaghetti ("It's squishy like brains") or avoiding them in water parks. Surviving an Alien Attack runs the gamut from the more-or-less reasonable (hide in a cave!) to the completely ridiculous (give the aliens some pants to trip on). The slightly more practical Surviving in the Jungle stresses befriending animals for a higher chance of survival and advises readers to be careful what they eat. Some STEM-influenced, project-based guides to island survival do exist, but Surviving on a Desert Island is more playful, suggesting that readers build a sandcastle for shelter or ride a whale to freedom. Though there is occasional trivia, these cartoon-illustrated guides are light on facts; frequent "editor's notes" feature asides from an increasingly frustrated third party ("This is absolutely ridiculous"). They won't be much help when it comes to research, but they're certainly engaging, and the goal here is to encourage critical-thinking skills. Add a few supplemental resources to the mix, and they should be able to prompt some interesting questions."
