The Explorer: Winner Of The Costa Children's Book Award

Local Description

CONSTANT READER STAFF REVIEW: ANNA

A plane crashes into the Amazon Jungle, leaving four children stranded far from any civilisation. As the days pass they grudgingly start to work together, finding food, water and shelter. Despite all the odds being against them, and a few near misses with danger, the children make their way home, and along the way they find that they are stronger, braver, and more resourceful than they ever could have imagined.

Katherine Rundell is a masterful storyteller, weaving tension and hope into her tales in a way that hooks the reader in immediately. Her young characters are a joy to read – imaginative and ingenious, and so very believable.

‘Explorer’ is very much a legacy of Eva Ibbotson’s ‘A Journey to the River Sea’, and as a long-time fan of both these authors, I was terribly excited to read ‘Explorer’ – it did not disappoint one bit. I was trapped in the story right from the start, and I couldn’t bear to put the book down till I had read the whole thing! Each of the characters is sketched out on the page with such clarity and detail that I felt I knew and loved each of them.

This story was an absolute delight to read, and perfect for fans of Enid Blyton, Eva Ibbotson, or Arthur Ransome.

Description

From his seat in the tiny aeroplane, Fred watches as the mysteries of the Amazon jungle pass by below him. He has always dreamed of becoming an explorer, of making history and of reading his name amongst the lists of great discoveries. If only he could land and look about him.
As the plane crashes into the canopy, Fred is suddenly left without a choice. He and the three other children may be alive, but the jungle is a vast, untamed place. With no hope of rescue, the chance of getting home feels impossibly small.
Except, it seems, someone has been there before them ...

Awards

Winner of the Children's Book Prize
Winner of the Costa Children's Book Award 2017
Winner of the London Book Fair Children's Travel Book of the Year
Longlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal

Reviews

'I loved The Explorer' Jacqueline Wilson
'Rundell is now unarguably in the FIRST RANK' Philip Pullm