Review: 'The Explorer' by Katherine Rundell

Millions of trees. Thousands of animals. Four children. Two aeroplanes. One explorer. One sloth. One epic adventure. What's not to love?

Synopsis:

From his seat in the tiny aeroplane, Fred watches the mysteries of the Amazon jungle pass by below him. He has always dreamed of becoming an explorer, of reading his name among the lists of great adventurers. If only he could land and look about him.

As the plane smashes into the canopy , Fred is suddenly eft without a choice. He and 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 terrifyingly small.

Except it seems, someone has been there before them....

Overview:

This is such a good read. I couldn't put the book down and flew through the story!

Filled with adventure, you soon find yourself lost in the Amazon with four children - Fred, Con, Lila and Max. After their plane crashes, the four children must find a way to survive in the beautiful, but unforgiving jungle.

Together, the children must learn how to survive - how to build shelter, secure water, find food and start a fire. Together, they manage to find ways to do all these things - finding berries, stealing honey from bees nests and even becoming friends with a sloth.

However, they soon realise they were not the first person to be there, and when disaster strikes, find themselves on the river, seeking down whoever was there before them.

What they find however, is beyond what any of them can except, and learning to survive, they discover things they never knew they could do, and build strong friendships.

Overall:

The Explorer is well worth a read! Full of action and adventure you will quickly find yourself absorbed in the story of the four children - learning the tricks of survival and the keen determination of four kids determined to find their way home.

The book is difficult to put down. Rundell is an excellent writer, building a clear picture of life in the jungle, and creating characters that you can easily like. What's more - the book is filled with fantastic artwork that help create the wonder - and the danger - of the jungle.