Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson
Published by Macmillan, 2001

The tale of an orphaned London schoolgirl and her governess's journey to South America is the subject of Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson. With a combination of a thrilling adventure story, credible and inspiring characters, and the story's appeal to child emotions, this book has been hailed by critics as a children's classic.

Set at the turn of the 20th century, it tells of Maia's journey to another world.
Accompanied by the straight-backed Miss Minton, Maia leaves the familiar comforts of her boarding school to start a new life with distant relatives who live 1000 miles from the mouth of the Amazon. Both soon discover an exotic world bursting with new experiences beyond their imagination. More importantly, they learn one of life's hardest lessons--to conquer their fears and embrace the unknown. And along the way they learn about tolerance, acceptance and trust.

While Maia's new family is not at all what she was expecting, she finds friendship in the most unlikely places, with the most unusual people. Clovis, a child actor roaming the world with a traveling theatre troupe, yearns for cold weather and stodgy puddings, while Finn, a half-English, half-Indian boy, would do anything to avoid his aristocratic English destiny.

This book suited to children aged 9 and over has been described by the Times Educational Supplement as "...a beautifully realized, uplifting adventure... an intensely visual account, full of the colours of South America."

Journey to the River Sea is one of the World Book Day 2003 recommended reads for children selected by a panel of children's book specialists. It is also the 2001 winner of The Smarties Book Prize.

Visit the World Book Day website at www.worldbookday.com for information on other recommended reads, information on authors and extracts from children's' books.

Journey to the River Sea is one of the books you are invited to review for Clare County Library's World Book Day, Book Review Competition and is widely available in all branches. For information on this competition visit see World Book Day 2003

Current Children's Book of the Month
Previous Children's Books of the Month