I SURVIVED: THE NIGHT OF THE LIONS, 2025, by Lauren Tarshis, Scholastic, Sept. 15, 2026, Paperback, $7.99 (ages 8-12)
I Survived Wildlife Adventure: The Night of the Lions, 2025, by Lauren Tarshis, transports readers deep into Botswana’s Okavango Delta.
Eleven-year-old Dylan is still reeling from the injury that shattered his all-star Little League dreams back home in Boston. His film-maker older sister offers him the trip of a lifetime: to travel with her as she films a world-famous lion expert in the heart of southern Africa.
Dylan’s days in the wilds of Botswana are filled with awe and wonder ― elephants splashing in lagoons, leopards growling under star-lit skies, herds of zebras racing through golden grasslands, glittering snakes basking on tree branches ― until disaster strikes.
A plane crash hurls Dylan into the unforgiving wilderness, where deadly creatures are on the prowl. Alone, injured, and terrified, Dylan must summon every ounce of strength and as he faces the deadliest predator of all: the African lion. —Synopsis provided by Scholastic
There’s a reason why the I Survived series is so popular with middle readers – they are full of adventure, fast moving and based on real events.
The Night of the Lions, 2025 is the 26th book in Tarshis’s series and takes readers to remote African wilderness. What makes this book different is that it doesn’t focus on a historic event, rather it transports readers to the wilderness to build “understanding of the animals and people working to help it thrive.”
Like her other books, The Night of the Lions, 2025 took Tarshis a year to create. A lot of research goes into the approximately 150 pages, and Tarshis wants to make sure she gets the information right.
That hard work paid off.
The Night of the Lions, 2025 is an exciting, nail-biting story that transports readers to a land most know little about. The story is engaging. The pacing is spot on. And the book is one that should appeal to a large cross section of readers.
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