The Explorer

The Explorer is a middle grade adventure novel written by Katherine Rundell and originally published in 2017. Katherine Rundell is the author of several middle grade novels which center on the challenges of surviving in wild environments. The Explorer sees four children stranded in the Amazon rainforest in the early 1900s after their plane crashes. Each in their own way, they demonstrate Perseverance and the Drive to Survive. Unexpectedly, they also learn about Hardship as a Catalyst for Friendship. As the children come of age in the rainforest, they experience Exploration as Self-Discovery. The Explorer was awarded the Children’s Book Prize for the 2017 Costa Book Awards.

This guide refers to the 2017 Simon & Schuster edition of the novel.

Plot Summary

A plane carrying four children and a pilot crashes in the Amazon rainforest in the early 1900s. Fred, Con, Lila, and Max survive the crash, but the pilot does not. Covered in bruises and burns, Fred climbs out of the plane and finds Con, Lila, and Max hiding in a bush. Together, the four children outrun a snake and find their way to a massive clearing. There, they find a human-made den and repair it enough to stay in it until they figure out what to do next. Eventually, they get thirsty and find their way to the Amazon River, where Fred is the first to dive in and drink the cold water. Lila and Max follow, and Con eventually enters the water, though hesitantly. When the group discovers that there are piranhas in the water, they rush out of the river and head back to their den. Fred starts to feel hopeful that they might actually survive, and he is the first to try eating a grub out of a cocoa bean plant. The group works together to start their first fire and later builds a raft that is strong enough to handle the river. Fred dives into the river during the test run and finds a sardine tin but is chased out of the water by an electric eel. On their way back, the group discovers a branch that acts as a perfect mooring and appears to have been placed there deliberately. Fred goes off in search of firewood and finds pineapples, which he shares with the group.

The next morning, Max is missing, which causes panic in the group. He comes out of a bush and tells the group that he found a strange animal in the trees. He leads them to the place where a baby sloth sits surrounded by a group of vultures. Lila adopts the baby sloth and names it Abacaxi. Max also discovers monkeys who use ant paste as a shield to collect honeycombs from a beehive, and Fred is the one to replicate this strategy, gathering honey for everyone to share. A day later, the campfire catches the wind and causes a forest fire that sends the group careening toward their river raft. They have no choice but to board it and see where the river takes them, and Con guides their way along. The group encounters pink dolphins and eventually lands along the shore, where Fred discovers a map hidden in a tree. The map has an X on it that the children decide to follow, and it leads them to a huge cliff that they must climb. Fred takes Max on his back and leads the way up the cliff. At the top, the group finds the ruins of an ancient city, along with a man they call the explorer, who lives there.

The explorer is aggressive and distrusting of the children at first but soon agrees to help them survive and make their way home. He gives them tools to hunt for food and teaches them how to gut and cook animals. When the explorer tells the children that they must keep their discovery a secret, everyone agrees except Fred, who wants to share the city with the world and impress his father. The explorer has a private space behind some vines that he forbids anyone from going into, but Fred boldly tries anyway, which nearly ruins the newly formed trust between the children and the explorer. When he apologizes the next day, the explorer takes pity on him and teaches him how to build a snare trap. The explorer also teaches the group how to hunt and cook tarantulas, and he offers them his own special brew of alcohol. The explorer ended up in the jungle after his own plane crashed, and the wife and son that he had there died of diseases brought by the Europeans. The explorer teaches the children how to fish using spears and feeds them a giant caiman for supper, and he tells the children all about the importance of protecting nature and ancient sites from human activity. After hearing this, the children make a vow of secrecy and mark X tattoos on their palms.

Just before the group prepares to leave for Manaus, Brazil, Max is attacked by bullet ants and falls gravely ill. The explorer makes the sacrifice of revealing his newly repaired plane, teaching Fred how to fly it so that Max can get to a hospital and be saved. Fred has one practice run with the explorer, who believes in Fred's potential and gives him the confidence he needs to undertake such a feat. Fred flies the plane home with Max, Lila, and Con, and they all reunite with their families. Fred discovers that he can rebuild his relationship with his father, and the bond of friendship between the children lasts into adulthood, as Fred becomes an explorer in his own right.