Journey to the River Sea

By Eva Ibbotson
Lexile = 860

Funny thing happened this week in my reading world. A neighbor gave me a book to read on Sunday. She likes to read memoirs and knows I do, too. Here's the book she lent to me:



Although not a kids' book, it is a great book about the exploration and re-exploration of the Amazon basin. In fact, while I was reading it, I thought to myself that certainly there is a great children's book in here, as well.

I finished the book on Tuesday and went back to the Ellis Library to get a "real" book for the blog. In a time crunch, I kinda grabbed the first good-looking thing I saw: Journey to the River Sea. Serendipity! (Vocab word: Look it up!)

Set in 1910, Journey is about Maia, an orphaned girl who is sent to live with relatives in exotic Brazil. Similar in time and feeling to A Little Princess, Journey follows Maia as she lives in sterile circumstances while longing for the wilds of the Amazon. The family she is sent to live with actually resides in Manaus, which is described in the Lost City of Z as one of the "gaudiest cities on earth" in 1912. (Another vocab word: gaudy)

Journey to the River Sea is my current favorite book of all time. Maia is a plucky girl who makes friends where others only fear. This is an adventure story that would make a good read-aloud (although perhaps a bit long for that), and appeal to boys and girls.