This is a fantastic book, with the very clever plot and twists throughout the story to keep excitement going. My children loved it and recommended it in their class.

This was my most anticipated book of the year and absolutely lived up to my expectations. A historical MG novel following four children whose plane crashes in the Amazon jungle when their pilot has a heart attack, it's as lyrical as ever from my favourite current author. All of the characters are brilliantly rendered, the setting is so vivid I could practically taste it, and the book tackles hugely important themes of bravery, friendship, trust, man's relationship to nature, and the importance of hope, love and of looking after each other. Best of the year so far for me, and joins Rooftoppers and The Wolf Wilder, also by Rundell, in my all-time top 10.

Katherine Rundell never fails to write engaging books that transport you into the pages. This story is a quirky, odd little tale that feels like a throwback at the same time as being entirely perfect for a modern audience. The four children who feature at the heart of the story are a well balanced group and it's lovely to see over the course of the story how they all develop and learn. Definitely a story I'll be looking forward to sharing.

The formatting on this rendered the book unreadable. Did not finish for this reason.

Kids will love all the tips on survival in the jungle. Great characters, young & old! Rundell's writing gets better & better

The publication of this book was eagerly awaited after hearing Katherine Rundell speak of it at the Oxford Literary festival earlier this year and it does not disappoint. I may be showing my age here, but as I read it with my daughter it brought back memories of Willard Price; Arthur Ransome and Enid Blyton (by that I mean the Famous Five never the Secret Seven) books of my childhood.
The way in which Fred utilises the information he has read to help the group of children survive and escape from the Amazon rainforest, while not losing patience with Max, the rather annoying youngest member of the group, has set this survival story in my heart as a modern Famous Five book (although with the descriptions of cricket jumpers and ruffled shirts, to my mind set at some point in the past) and is definitely one which will be read again.

‘The real world is where you feel most real.’

Katherine Rundell is fast becoming the go-to children’s author for an authentic and exciting children’s novel. After reviewing her previous novel (The Wolf Wilder) earlier this year, I can safely say that she is enroute to joining the ranks of Dahl & Co. when it comes to producing a story that will capture even the most stubborn child’s imagination!


The story of The Explorer is pretty simple. Four children survive a plane crash in the opening chapter and must navigate the perils of the Amazon rainforest until they can get home. To do this they must find food and shelter. What follows is a fantastic tale of challenge and adventure as the children learn who they really are in the face of danger. The story may be simple but the writing is both very real and gritty thus allowing the reader to experience the sights, sounds and even the tastes of the Amazon.

‘You can eat all of it, including the face.’

I loved the The Explorer for many reasons. Even though it was bursting full of imagination and adventure, it was based on people and places in the real world. This always makes a story more interactive and instantly believable.

In the foreword, Rundell explains that nearly everything that happens in this novel happened to her to some extent during her own adventures in the Amazon. This video describes her reasons for writing this unique tale of adventure and bravery:


I also loved how the story pays homage to famous rainforest explorers of the past such as Percy Fawcett, Simon Murphy and Christopher Maclaren. Reading through this book I could not help but think about the Indiana Jones films and the upcoming Jumanji remake. Fawcett’s story was recently made into a movie called The Lost City Of Z. It’s brilliant to see the great tradition of the adventure story still very much alive today.


Adventure stories have always been popular and have that added spark because they are based in reality.
On a final note, what made this book extra special was how is subtly dealt with themes such as identity, bravery and protecting the natural world. Each character in the story deals with struggle in a different way, particularly when tough decisions have to be made. Rundell deals with concepts such as love, loss and fear in a delicate manner and this adds real weight to the story. I wouldn’t be surprised if this novel makes the leap to the big screen sometime soon.

‘You should always dress as if you might be going to the jungle. You never know when you might meet an adventure.’

Would I recommend this book to a friend?

Yes this is an ideal bedtime or classroom read to spark an interest in the natural world and its amazing animals and secret places. There are no boring parts to this story as Rundell brings us on an adventure deep into the Amazonian jungle.

Rundell writes that she

“wanted to write a book in which the children discover that they are braver than they think… and about children discovering that the world is more beautiful and complicated than they ever imagined…survival stories are, at their heart, about why it’s worth living in the first place”

In this story four children are on a small plane that crashes in the Amazon rainforest and must learn to survive without adult help and only their own courage and initiative.
There are piranha, dolphin, caimans and sloths. And you can tell that Rundell has obviously spent time in the Amazon., as she tells you in the Introduction.

There is frosty Con, Fred who believes who has always enjoyed reading about explorers and Brazilian Lila who has some knowledge about local plants and animals. She is caring for 5 year old Max.

They learn to forage for berries and fruit, collect honey and mash up maggots to make pancakes.

Later, they start to notice signs that someone else may have been where they are trying to survive and this leads to a whole new exploration as they then decide to make their way on a raft back towards “civilisation”. A surprise awaits them…

One of the best things about Rundell’s writing is that she never makes her characters predictable or one dimensional. The children don’t always get on.. . Little Max is whiny and snotty, Con is frosty and stubborn and Fred doesn’t always get it right. The children argue and complain.

This is a tale in which Rundell is able to also make her characters find out more about themselves - that they can face their fears but also question things they have always believed in or ways of behaving. So they find out that the world is more complicated than it seems.


Without adults there they learn to be resourceful and do things which would be considered dangerous in the current world of health and safety (although it is not made clear what time the novel is set in)

A great book for readers of Willard Price, Bear Grylls, Steve Backshall and Eva Ibbotson’s A Journey to River Sea.

A journey of self-discovery and friendship made this a charming read, with plenty of danger and edge-of-your-seat moments thrown in for good measure!

'The Explorer' is an absolute gem of a novel. Friendship, bravery, and adventure all rolled into one. Fred, Lila, Con and Max are left in the Amazon to fend for themselves after their plane crashes. They have to figure out how to survive wild animals, thirst and starvation as well as try and get home to their loved ones.

This book shows the resilience of children in difficult situations. When they find the explorer, they immediately try to revert back to being looked after by an adult, especially Con. But when he makes it clear he will teach them how to feed themselves, the children thrive again. Their bravery shines through, especially towards the end of the story. The explorer managed to teach them how amazing the world is but also that they need their families too.

The imagery the author creates in the novel is astounding. The reader almost feels the heat, can smell the forest, taste the grubs the children eat. This is a novel that all children should read. My siblings will definitely be getting a copy for Christmas!

I received a copy of the author's letter, but not the actual book, hence the lack of star rating. I will however, be purchasing the book upon its release.

No review - did not finish. Wasn't keen on the characters and had read something similar recently that struck a chord instantly, though I will still recommend this to the target market.

Katherine Rundell has to be one of my absolute favorite authors. Really loved this new one and felt it did something quite different from her previous books, Can't get enough of her writing!

A well written adventure - I thought of it as a modern day Enid Blyton. 4 children surviving with their wits in the Amazon jungle and meeting the explorer of the title. It challenged your ideas about safeguarding wild places and the impact of humanity on its environment. I loved the children's impact on the explorer who is unable to shut them out emotionally despite his best endeavours. It is great to see the impact of their adventures on the children.

Having read other books by Katherine Ruindell I have to say that this is by far my favourite. I LOVED it! This is such a fantastic story of 4 children stranded in the jungle after their plane crashes. You follow them on their adventures trying to find a way back home. I loved learning about each one and the way their characters unfolded you couldn't help but love them. As a Key Stage 2 teacher I would definitely recommend this book as a class based text.

Fred has read everything he can get his hands on about explorers, adventurers and the great expeditions which have taken them into the unknown. But with his father far too busy working and being respectable to notice, Fred's dreams have always been a secret. That is, until a trip to Brazil sees him crashlanded in the jungle with three other children - siblings Lila and Max, and haughty Con (actually Constantia but use it at your peril). While their time in the jungle is dangerous (and involves eating spiders), it opens up something more in each of them. There's lots of bravery, teamwork, arguing, and new friendship.

As with all good kids' books, adult characters are a secondary consideration. There is one exception in the titular and nameless explorer, a mysterious and gruff jungle-dweller who lives in some ancient ruins and can catch fish with his bare hands. Rundell makes sure to give each of her characters moments of complexity or backstory, the explorer included. The period setting isn't entirely specific, but a little digging puts it somewhere in the mid-to-late 1920s. There were no illustrations in my early copy, which is a shame as they have the potential to really change or cement one's experience of the book. It takes time to invest in the plot and a rushed ending is precipitated by just a little too much dialogue, but the book runs at an otherwise jolly pace.

Rundell's prose is fairly straightforward, but also expressive and memorable In her hands, the rainforest becomes a place more for savouring than escaping from. Rundell takes the opportunity to invoke the host of extraordinary creatures who call it home, too. Ultimately, The Explorer is about adventures, and wildlife, and kids who get their hands dirty. It's a rollicking recommendation.

An expanded version of this review will appear on my blog closer to publication.

What a gloriously wonderful book. The completely absorbing story of four children whose plane crashes in the Amazon jungle, they are utterly alone and learn to survive using common sense and good luck. The pace is great, the things that happen to the children all seem to fit with the situation even though they are completely fantastic. They decide to try to get home using a map they've found, strap a raft together using intuition and set off to try and escape their situation. The river carries them to meet The Explorer, a man with no name and a mysterious past. He is vastly irritated to have these children turn up in his space but ends up being their saviour.

The detail in the book is just wonderful, the food that they children survive on, tarantula eggs and other jungle treats! The sounds of the animals and birds are beautifully described. The writing just carries you away into the world of the Amazon. There are lots of wonderful moments. The children are perfectly described and The Explorer is so cleverly done, the lonely man with no need for the outside world an fighting to right the damage that has been done to the environment. I found myself highlighting lots of lovely passages. I found myself quite emotional at time the story quite moved me, the parting words of The Explorer as the children begin their journey back to civilisation are just gorgeous.
'And all of you - do not forget that, lost out here, you were brave even in your sleep. Do not forget to take risks. Standing ovations await your bravery,' Con swallowed. 'But I'm afraid,' she whispered. The Explorer nodded, scarred and dusty and matter-of-fact. 'You are right to be afraid. Be brave anyway.'

Thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury for giving me access to this book. I'll be buying multiple copies for school, the students who've loved survival stories like Hatchet will love this.

Katherine Rundell has a beautiful way of making writing like new. Her phrases are bright and unexpected jewels, waking you up to the world. She gives seriously good simile! Her descriptions transport you to the amazon and throw you in to the jungle. The Explorer is an adventure in language as well as storyline.

'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 ...'

As any good adventure book should be, The Explorer is about children learning about themselves and finding their strengths and their true characters. But it's also about finding freedom. The freedom to be yourself and to rage against social expectations. It is fierce and inspiring, joyful and exciting. It is everything a children's book should be. I loved it.

You can get your copy here.

Source - kindly sent for review by the publisher.

My heart! What a wonderful book - I gulped it down and know I would have absolutely devoured it as a child.
After a plane crash, four children, strangers to each other, are lost and alone in the Amazon rainforest; somehow, they must work together to find water, food, shelter - and the way home.

It has absolutely everything an adventurous heart could desire...