Rise and Fall: Spirit Animals, Book 6

Parents need to know that Rise and Fall is the sixth book in a multimedia, multi-author series from Scholastic, similar to its 39 Clues and Infinity Ring series. There's a website where young readers can choose their own spirit animal and character identity and enter codes from the books they read to unlock prizes and whatnot. Aimed at animal-loving tween readers just now digging into fantasy tales, each book since the series debut in September 2013 -- Wild Born, by Brandon Mull -- is written by a different, seasoned children's author with new installments appearing every few months. Rise and Fall's author, Eliot Schrefer, had previously written about wilderness survival with Endangered and Threatened. He's well-suited to writing this Spirit Animals installment as the four diverse 11-year-old characters at the center of the story -- and their spirit animals -- face plenty of peril in the wild. The girls nearly drown when thrown overboard in chains, and the boys and their animals are set upon by lions and wild dogs. There are bloody injuries, and a close companion and his spirit animal die. Readers also watch a giant snake order the death of a girl by her own spirit animal. Messages remain positive. A character learns to talk to others about his worries and sadness, and we all get a reminder that even the most humble-looking wild creatures can be pretty amazing.