Jeff Probst talks ‘Survivor’-inspired book series

>> is best known as the emmy-winning host of survivor. he has taken that idea, written an adventure series for kids based on the question, what would happen if four kids were shipwrecked on an island and left to fend for themselves? the book is called stranded. we should also mention he is the host of the jeff probst show as well. good morning to you.

>> good morning gnatry.

>> nice to have you back who are.

>> thanks for having me.

>> people have long asked why not do a survivor series for kids?

>> survivor is such a family show. that's what they say, when are you going to do one for kids? since we have not yet dropped an 8, 9, 10, 11-year-old on an isla island, we thought we'll write the book, put the kids in there. could you find food, build shelter, build a fire?

>> this is such a blended story. you bring your own personal experience in this as well. when you married lisa, she had two kids to add to the family.

>> she brought these two amazing little kids who were so -- they were young enough they were excited to have another dad in their life. we went looking for fiction. and there's nothing out there, virtually nothing. so this is a story of a mom and dad who each bring two kids and say let's send them out on a sailing trip to get to know each other. a storm comes in and --

>> they're shipwrecked.

>> and they're stranded.

>> and they don't always get along, right?

>> no. because they don't even know each other yet. what survivor does and what "stranded" does, it forces you to work together through the conflict. and there's three books in this series. so they get to know each other. then they learn how to is your voiv and ultimately are trying to get rescued.

>> they each have a skill set. one is good at lighting fires, the other is good at hunting, finding water.

>> the kids are very different. one is kind of a couch potato that watches survivor shows. the other is more of the athlete. there's two girls. one is the gatekeeper and journalist. each of them bring their different skills in over the course of the journey, which is why i say it is survivor for kids. it's the same idea.

>> did you bring sort of that blended family experience to this as well, allowing them to go through the challenges as --

>> yes.

>> -- kids growing up in that environment?

>> yes. that is the point. they are really going to mature quickly. but also they're going to learn that this new brother i have, maybe he's not so bad after all. maybe he actually brings something into my life, in the way that kids do. first usually by saying i don't know if i like you so much or not. the big part of the story is adventure. it is full-on survivor adventure.

>> this is the age group of 8 to 10.

>> 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, yeah. the characters are 8 to 13. so right in that range.

>> and we know that it continues. you said it's the first of three. they're still stranded?

>> oh, yes. they're still stranded at the end of book one.

>> okay. survival skills will come in handy. congrats on the show.

>> thanks.

>> keep it going.

>> thanks for having me on.

>> jeff probst , thank you so