The Great Expedition
by Peter Carnavas (Author)
The Great Expedition explores the wild country, the playground, but most importantly, your imagination.
On August 20th, a group of young explorers are charged with a dangerous mission. They are to travel across wild country to deliver a valuable parcel. The journey would be punishing. It would test the resolve of the brave young explorers. Most of all, it would provide us all with a pair of unlikely heroes to admire and remember for many years to come. This is their story.
Precise writing captures the essence of summer, while illustrations highlight the joys of going on an adventure. A celebration of the everlasting memories of childhood friendship.
Peter Carnavas, author-illustrator of A Quiet Girl and The Elephant, writes with a sense of adventure and play, while his illustrations create humor and relatability.
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Publishers Weekly
Young Robert and his band of "brave young explorers"--five children, portrayed with various skin tones, plus a terrier-like pooch--are entrusted one morning with delivering a "valuable" ribbon-tied parcel to an unidentified recipient. "They were a ramshackle bunch," writes Carnavas (My Brother Ben) about the trek-costumed crew, "but each member had a duty essential to the journey." As they make their way across "rugged terrain" that's easily identifiable as a playground, the band dwindles due to an insect incident, adult intervention, and downright desertion, leaving only Robert and Will. Braving hunger and thirst, they are at long last greeted with open arms by the parcel's recipient: a grandmotherly figure revealed to live just on the other side of the playground. Even readers too young to be acquainted with the tropes of documentary-style narration should sense there is good-natured spoofing underway. But this work also understands that the responsibility of an errand is a big deal for little kids, and the largely single-plane drawings, rendered in watercolor and ink, strike a fine balance between mock-seriousness and earnest adventure. Ages 4-7. (Aug.)
Copyright 2024 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
ALA/Booklist
A lighthearted hero’s journey.
Review quotes
"The book wrings laughs from these juxtapositions, but the contrariety of text and images also drives the audience's interest. It's satisfying to look at the pictures and see what's really going on....His drawings are warm and gentle, and his tale imbues the children's adventure with a dignity that's surprisingly heartfelt. In the end, the trailblazers get a warm hug from their neighbor and a heroic valediction: 'Their story will not be forgotten.' That claim might not be overblown. For the adult unafraid to ham it up in the mode of a bombastic documentarian, this book has the makings of a memorable read-aloud."—The New York Times
"Children will appreciate this absorbing adventure, which honors the power of imagination as it tickles the funny bone....A lighthearted hero's journey."—Kirkus Reviews
"There is good-natured spoofing....But this work also understands that the responsibility of an errand is a big deal for little kids, and the largely single-plane drawings, rendered in watercolor and ink, strike a fine balance between mock-seriousness and earnest adventure."—Publishers Weekly
"Carnavas has a tongue-in-cheek sense of humour....The Great Expedition will delight young children and may inspire them to embark on...expeditions of their own."—CM Magazine
JUV019000 - Juvenile Fiction | Humorous Stories
JUV051000 - Juvenile Fiction | Imagination & Play
JUV001000 - Juvenile Fiction | Action & Adventure
