Survival Fiction - Tunnel in the Sky by Robert Heinlein

What is it about survival fiction for young adults?  I remember reading a bunch of it as a child, titles like My Side of the Mountain, where a child is out in the wild, either by choice or by chance, and has to use their skills and training to survive.

The Hunger Games Trilogy is an obvious example of this phenomenon, and I am sure Harry Potter fits into this category if you stretch it.  Very few adults, difficult situations, but good prevails.  Are these didactic stories?  Do they teach young readers that they can do anything with intelligent decision making and a bit of luck?

I hope so.  I recently got to listen to the Full Cast Audio production of Tunnel in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein, originally published in 1955.  Similar themes, only on an alien planet! I reviewed it at more length over on SFF Audio, but it made me want to think of all the survival lit I read when I was younger.  Help me build my list in the comments section!