PICTURE BOOK - The Quest for Z: The True Story of Explorer Percy Fawcett and a Lost City in the Amazon by Greg Pizzoli

Illustrated by the author
2017, Viking

Hardcover $17.99

40 pgs.
Nonfiction/Biography

Goodreads rating:  4.14 - 120 ratings

My rating: 5

Endpapers:  Green - Newpapers cut up in the shapes of leaves and vegetation

Illustrations:  "silkscreen, photographic halftones, Zipatone, photocopy machines, newspapers, cut paper, and Photoshop"!

1^st line/s:  "Less than one hundred years ago, maps of the world still included large 'blank spots': distant and dangerous lands that mapmakers and scientists had no yet explored."

My comments:  A fascinating, interesting read, a perfect nonfiction picture book for 3rd and 4th graders, and a great addition to the nonfiction adventurer/explorer genre. Simple illustrations add to the text but do not overpower it.  Mr. Pizzoli doesn't shy away from facts that might be glossed over by other authors, particularly the many deaths that accompany a dangerous profession.  Included are four sidebars with information about The Royal Geographical Society, The Amazon Rain Forest, Mosquitoes, and Famous Explorers, and an Author's Note, afterward, glossary, and resource listing that are all just as interesting as the story.  Diseases spread by mosquitoes kill at least 750,000 people every year! And 20 percent of Earth's oxygen is produced in the Amazon rainforest!  Top Notch.

Goodreads:  British explorer Percy Fawcett believed that hidden deep within the Amazon rainforest was an ancient city, lost for the ages. Most people didn't even believe this city existed. But if Fawcett could find it, he would be rich and famous forever. This is the true story of one man's thrilling, dangerous journey into the jungle, and what he found on his quest for the lost city of Z.

34. The Map Trap - Andrew Clements

Audio cd read by Keith Nobbs
2014 Atheneum Books for Young Readers
144 pgs.
Middle-grade CRF
Finished 6/14/16
Goodreads rating:  3.71 (408 ratings)
My rating: 4
Setting: Contemporary small town Illinois

First line/s:  "When the fire alarm began to beep and blink on the Tuesday morning, the first thing Miss Wheeling thought about was her hair."

My comments:  As usual when I read Andrew Clements, I was not disappointed.  I was twice-thrilled to discover that not only did this young many love maps, he was a geocacher, and this was described and mentioned throughout the book.  Very cool!  Geocaching is the next-best-thing to letterboxing (IMHO) and I've never seen it mentioned in a book before.  Alton is a polite, thoughtful young man who instantly drew me in.  The (very) young teacher in this book is so unlike me, but I loved her, as well as Alton's friend (whose name I've already forgotten).  Short, fun read.  This was on just two cds and read by the very talented Keith Nobbs. NOTE:  I think there are some cool illustrations in this book that I missed out on by listening and not reading.

Goodreads synopsis:  This map-tastic middle grade story from Andrew Clements gives the phrase “uncharted territory” a whole new meaning!
          Alton Barnes loves maps. He’s loved them ever since he was little, and not just for the geography. Because maps contain more information than just locations, and that’s why he likes to draw maps as well as read them. Regular “point A to point B” ones, sure, but also maps that explain a whole lot more—like what he really thinks about his friends. And teachers. Even the principal.