Journey to the River Sea

Product Information

Suitable for children working towards/at the expected standard in Y5/6, the questions are closely linked to the National Curriculum and therefore adequately develop their comprehension skills. It can be used as a guided reading text, an assessment piece or as an introduction to the text in general. I enjoyed this through and through, and somewhere in the second half it sailed from a 3-star rating to a 4-star one. I think it’s because, by the mid-point, almost all the events that an adult reader would predict have happened, and from then on it’s all about seeing how everything plays out and, most important, seeing Maia in her element: I hated this book as a child, and basically, my re-read as an adult solidified this. I can understand why I did not like it. I feel it was also very forgettable. All I remember was the harmful content and little else about the storyline. I liked this book because, it has loads of imagination put into it. it has loads of description and so much adventure. When she goes and discovers a new boy (from westwood.) she tries to get away to an new island

Eva Ibbotson (born Maria Charlotte Michelle Wiesner) was a British novelist specializing in romance and children's fantasy. There were girls at school who wanted to ride, and others who wanted to go on the stage, and there was a girl who had made a terrible fuss till she was allowed to learn the oboe – not the flute, not the clarinet, it had to be the oboe. They knew that these things were for them; and Maia knew that boats were for her. Boats, and going on and on and not arriving unless one wanted to.” At first, this looks like a fairly predictable orphaned-English-girl-gets-shipped-off-to-live-with-distant-relatives story. Predictably, the family Maia is to live with in Brazil is horrid, and only allowed her to come at all so that they could get the allowance that comes with her. Fortunately, Maia has a very sympathetic, if somewhat mysterious governess who accompanies her to Brazil and in her adventures. It isn't until Maia's been in Brazil for a while that the story begins to come out of its predictable beginnings. There's a missing boy who may or may not actually be missing, and a child actor suddenly looking at the end of his career, and possibly Maia's new family has been living on ill-gotten gains for some time. I’d give the book 4.5 stars, maybe even 5, but the writing/divulgence of the plot was a little too simplistic. I know that sounds petty, and possibly even is, but I actually think the author could have done better and that the book itself somehow called for more depth/delivery. Some of the books, particularly Journey to the River Sea, also reflect Ibbotson's love of nature. Ibbotson wrote this book in honor of her husband (who had died just before she wrote it), a former naturalist. The book had been in her head for years before she actually wrote it.I read this at school with the whole class, and I'm sorry, but it was so boring and I nearly fell asleep! I got the book all mixed up, it was very confusing, let alone VERY boring! Journey to the River Sea is just the kind of book I loved reading as a child. It is set in the late 19th century (I've always enjoyed those books more than the ones set in more recent times) and is an adventure story with strong female characters and intelligent kids. What a lovely adventure / coming-of-age story! Maia is a strong female character – intelligent, kind, generous, brave, resourceful and loyal. I loved how she reserved judgment until she was certain of the facts, and even when faced with greedy, spiteful people she maintained her dignity and, with the help of Miss Minton, found a way around obstacles. Her willingness to explore and learn about the native culture was also a fine lesson. And I liked the way Ibbotson made heroes out of some unlikely characters. This may well be my favourite book. The first time I read it, I was ten years old and it was like nothing I'd ever read before. It's just magical.

I've been thinking a lot about how children's fiction can play a role in the moral development of a child. Ibbotson writes in a variety of genres, but even her most humorous and farcical stories always have a particular moral clarity about them. She reminds me of Dahl in that way. The baddies are lazy, selfish, greedy, grasping -- and usually rich. The goodies are kind, honest, brave, resourceful, modest and hardworking. They yearn for connectedness, not things. She was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1925. When Hitler came into power, her family moved to England. She attended Bedford College, graduating in 1945; Cambridge University from 1946-47; and the University of Durham, from which she graduated with a diploma in education in 1965. Ibbotson had intended to be a physiologist, but was put off by the amount of animal testing that she would have to do. Instead, she married and raised a family, returning to school to become a teacher in the 1960s. Ibbotson was widowed with three sons and a daughter. I was pleased with all of the main characters and their development, and thought the book held some great practical and down to earth lessons too. Perhaps the natives and their lifestyle was a little too romanticized, and the investigators stereotyped into their typical bumbling personalities, but it seemed to work for the book. In my initial review, I talked about how the novel was quite flat and very slow-paced. There were serious issues with the representation in this novel; racism, exoticism, and romanticism. I do not feel that the author represented their culture fairly and accurately (due to the problematic content). I vividly remember writing something in my review about the writing being very 'armchair'-esque. It reminded me of the days where Western anthropologists would sit comfortably in their homes writing about people from other cultures, obviously not very fairly and in a very "Othering" manner. I think that I may have also mentioned themes of colonialism and "white saviourism"? I was also certain that the author had little knowledge/experience of the cultures she was harmfully and incorrectly depicting. Not to say that you cannot write outside of your own experience, but this is not how you do it. I liked this book because, it has loads of imagination put into it. It has loads of description and so much adventure. When Maia goes and discovers a new boy (from Westwood) she tries to get away to an new island.Amidst her trying to evade her awful cousins, she is tutored by a wonderful governness, goes to piano and dancing lessons, meets a young actor as well as an old professor, some Russian aristocrats and a seemingly wild boy. And yes, all of them play a vital part in this story because almost nothing is as it seems. Journey to the River Sea is a beautifully written novel, deserving its many accolades. As with so many young adult novels the protagonist has to find her way in the world through her own courage, gifts and wits, with just a little help from a few friendly helpers. She is the classic 'outsider' who doesn't appear to fit the mould: she looks different, loves books and, above all, is an orphan. (In fact, as we see, most of the children mentioned in this tale lose or have lost one or both of their parents.) Forget that we have a few possible literary trope borrowings (I suspect Peter Pan and Tarzan and The Jungle Book might have been distant influences, as well as the aforementioned Mary Poppins, Cinderella and, obviously, Little Lord Fauntleroy); it's what Ibbotson chooses to do with these themes that make this both unputdownable and rarely predictable. Perhaps this is where we, as teachers, could come in, add to this resource, and continue to add and improve this superb resource. Just an idea;) Her books are imaginative and humorous, and most of them feature magical creatures and places, despite the fact that she disliked thinking about the supernatural, and created the characters because she wanted to decrease her readers' fear of such things.

In Ibbotson's attempt to invoke racial discussions, there was further, assumedly, unintended racism. This undermines the intent of the novel and plays further into the "saviourism" trope. Ibbotson is also not exactly an authority figure when discussing racism against Brazilians and South American Natives. Although, I appreciate the critique of Western/British colonial heritage and imbedded racism/white supremacy in Western cultures. A book that is almost lyrically beautiful….’Journey To The River Sea’ is choc-a-bloc with exotic plants and animals and ably supported by well-etched characters. Eva Ibbotson had apparently written this book in honour of her late husband who was a naturalist. And she makes a fitting tribute. It isn’t an exaggeration to say that you can effortlessly picture the rainforest in all it’s wild, damp greenery as it unfolds with each chapter. This was written in a way that reminded me of the books I read in junior school. It relit my ten year old self's yen for adventure and for things completely different to all I've known.I have never read this, but it looks very interesting and I will definitely read it! It looks like my kind of book. Besides, many reviewers say that the book was amazing, and one even said that it has some romance in it, even more my style! I look forward to reading it. With the opening extract included, this comprehension resource includes questions and answers for this classic text by Eva Ibbotson. The passion for the setting is palpable through Maia's and Finn's love for the place, the writing is bringing to life all the brightly colored macaws, enormous butterflies and dangerous caimans. I've read a few adventure stories, but this author's swept you along like few others. But then Maia meets Finn, a wild boy in a canoe…..a boy who’s wrapped in mystery and adventure and who will soon take Maia on an unforgettable trip into the fantastic and magical rainforest. The story is a little mix of A Little Princess, The Series of Unfortunate Events, Cinderella and … the book that Ibootson references/uses in this tale. Ha, ha.

Ibottson began writing with the television drama 'Linda Came Today', in 1965. Ten years later, she published her first novel, The Great Ghost Rescue. Ibbotson has written numerous books including The Secret of Platform 13, Journey to the River Sea, Which Witch?, Island of the Aunts, and Dial-a-Ghost. She won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize for Journey to the River Sea, and has been a runner up for many of major awards for British children's literature. The characters are given flesh and bones in the most beautiful, solid writing. Not a word wasted, not a phrase that didn't enhance the story. Descriptions of the places and people formed magnificently clear pictures. The characters did not change and blow about in the wind and I really liked their solidness. It fit the story perfectly. Cleanliness: mentions a lady’s corset a couple of times. Mentions someone dying shortly after childbirth. A man collects human glass eyes - slightly disturbing. Mentions a witch doctor in passing. There are people/children who do bad things and there are consequences. Everything is righted in the end. There are a few somewhat intense scenes, one involving a fire and a house burning down. Maia herself is a charming protagonist. She’s resourceful, she’s intelligent and kind – I just adored her character. But while Maia might feel like what could only be described as a typically “classic” heroine don’t make the mistake of confusing her for a Mary Sue. Ibbotson rounds her character’s determined resourcefulness with flaws. Maia can be impulsive and her curious nature often leads her into scrapes. But it’s Maia’s determination, her ability to look for the best in people that makes her such a lovable heroine.

Eva Ibbotson's style of writing about her characters, where she often seems to leave things unsaid, somehow makes the characters seem even more real because you use your own imagination to fill out some of the details. This was a very original book, the setting, the characters and the plot were all unusual but incredibly engaging. I highly recommend this book to anyone, I would give it 10 out of 10. Hi! I made this when I was teaching the novel as a mixture between a classroom novel and home project, so I didn't make resources for the missing parts. Sorry! I like that Ibbotson shows an equally valid desire in the decidedly less adventurous but certainly realistic Clovis, who yearns for the…ahem…creature comforts of England. His cravings for shape and other “stodgy puddings” made me laugh. There is a foreword and a note from the author at the beginning of my book. The former explains the significance of this author (I had never heard of her before), the latter is she herself telling us what made her write this book.