I’ve just come back from the Amazon jungle - well at least after reading Rundell’s The Explorer it certainly feels that way. I can almost taste the sweat and the smell of roasted birds and fish .’The Explorer’ is an exciting tale of caimans, tarantulas, piranhas and four ‘undercooked adults’ who have crashed in the Amazon, and the struggles of the four children to be brave, be friends, and ultimately to survive. I loved ‘Rooftoppers’, ‘Wolf Wilder’ and ‘Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms’ and this didn’t disappoint. Rundell says that in writing this story she wanted to remind children that they can be brave and this is a great adventure that kids will surely love. I connected with the book’s message that "Every human on this earth is an explorer." As an avid traveller I couldn’t agree more but I always thought I had no survival skills and after reading this novel I know I wouldn’t stand five minutes if I had been in their place. Rundell’s language and humour are two elements that I really enjoy in her novels and this was no exception. I always enjoy being transported through Rundell's rich descriptive prose to exotic locations, whether Southern Africa, the Russian snow or Parisian rooftops, and now the Amazon jungle. I loved the explorer’s appeal to the children, ‘When you get home, tell them how large the world is, and how green. And tell them that the beauty of the world makes demands on you. They will need reminding. If you believe the world is small and tawdry, it is easier to be so yourself. But the world is so tall and so beautiful a place." Amen! Let us all keep exploring and appreciating the vastness and beauty of the world! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I have already ordered it for @PIELibrary and know our international students/explorers will love it!

High above the Amazon Rainforest, four children are on a flight that will change their lives. While Fred looks longingly at the lush, green jungle below him, Con sits silently and Lila tends to her little brother, Max. When the pilot takes ill, the plane crashes into the jungle and the four children must find their way through the vast, dangerous landscape they've plummeted into, to the safety of Manaus.

A rip-roaring story of survival, bravery, friendship and love through the Amazon with four children who couldn't be more different. Dreamer Fred finds himself following in the footsteps of his heroes. Con is distant and unpredictable. Lila is as caring and practical as a mother, while Max is adorable in his defiance of the perils they must face. Watching them grow individually and as a group through their trials was as rich and wondrous as the environment they travel through. Katherine Rundell’s description pulls you down beneath the canopy as quickly as our survivors’ plane dropped them into it.

This truly is a book for children of all ages; it has the timeless feel of a classic.

This is an absolute gem of a book! A rip-roaring adventure story in the grand tradition of 20th century children's fiction, but with a subtlety to it that captivates. Four children are in a plane that crash lands in the Amazon jungle, this is the story of how they survive.

It's total, pure escapist reading at its best, but with a strong undercurrent of self-discovery for the characters. I have a soft spot for all the characters, even 5 year old Max who threatens to wee on people if he doesn't like what they say!

I loved The Explorer and flew through it!

I am still trying to decide quite why I love this book. At several points it reads as though it is some sort of manual, a 'Young Person's Guide to Surviving in the Jungle' that at the last moment has been converted into fiction. The writer rightly removes world exploration from world exploitation and empire but in doing so makes being a modern-day explorer an option only for those with independent income as well as independent attitude. And yet...

And yet there is real magic here, for example in Lila's love for the sloth: 'Lila didn't seem to be breathing. But it was as if a light came out of her; she seemed to glow out into the forest.' and 'Lila shook. Every part of her radiated longing'. This is an adventure book. This is a disaster book. This is a book about growing up, growing into oneself, and exploring the world physically emotionally and philosophically. This novel is not flawless but it is a breath-taking, wondrous read, rather like the rain-forest itself.

'It looked, Fred thought, like someone had designed it [the rain forest] with a purpose in mind: someone who wanted the world to be as wild and green and alive as possible'.

I absolutely loved The Explorer. This was the third of Katherine Rundell's books I've read and the best so far - even better than Rooftoppers.

The story revolves around four children surviving in the Amazon rainforest following a plane crash. It was filled with adventure, excitement and was gripping throughout. The characters were developed thoroughly and the plot followed the journey they went on.

I teach Year 6 and this is definitely going on my list of recommendations and I plan to use it as a class text next year. This book will inspire so many fantastic creative writing opportunities .