The Explorer by Katherine Rundell

Book of the Week: 7 January 2018

Happy New Year!

Our first book of the week for 2018 recently won the Costa Children’s Book Award.

Fred, Con (short for Constantia), Lila and her five-year-old brother Max are being flown towards Manaus, the biggest city in the Amazon rainforest, when the pilot of their small plane falls ill. The plane crashes into the jungle, the pilot is killed and the four children have to survive in the wet heat, which is alive with snakes, spiders, piranah and caiman (a type of alligator). Will they be able to build a raft, find things to eat and follow the river back to Manaus, or will terror get the better of them?

Despite the life-threatening situation and some grisly descriptions of what they have to do to survive, there are frequent laughs throughout the book and a constant sense of the wonder of nature and the resilience of the human spirit.

If you enjoy a good survival story, then here are some more suggestions.

Survive the wilderness

Adult fiction

Adult non-fiction

 

 

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