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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Salem Main Library | J 921 Fawcett, Percy Harrison 2017 | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Monmouth Public Library | J 910.92 PIZZOLI 2017 | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
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.
Praise for Greg Pizzoli's Tricky Vic -
Author Notes
Greg Pizzoli is an author, illustrator and screen printer from Philadelphia. His first picture book, The Watermelon Seed , was published by Disney*Hyperion Books and was the 2014 recipient of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award. Greg's work has been featured in The New York Times , Communication Arts , 3x3 Magazine and he's won two Portfolio Honor Awards from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. After college, Greg spent two years as a full-time volunteer in AmeriCORPS from 2005-2006. In 2009, he received his MFA from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where he now teaches. Greg lives in Philadelphia with his wife and two unruly cats.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-5-Percy Fawcett dreamed of being an explorer from the time he was a young child in the 1860s; the accounts of his explorer father and brother fueled his enthusiasm. Even his stint in the British Army in Sri Lanka afforded him the opportunity to investigate local jungles. On Fawcett's return home, he began training through the Royal Geographical Society, learning, for instance, which plants were poisonous and which were not. The Society hired him to map areas of Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru, including some of the most dangerous regions of the Amazon rain forest. Fawcett kept coming home safe and finding a new trip to lead. Throughout, he heard rumors of a fantastic ancient city reportedly deep in the Amazon area, a ruin he wanted to locate. So off he went in April 1925, with his 21-year-old son and another young man. Fawcett sold his story to a newspaper and promised regular reports so the papers could bring "live" news to their readers. This offering is for daring readers who prefer nonfiction: there's an unknown explorer to pique their interest, great back matter to demonstrate how to deepen their research, and Pizzoli's clever, humorous illustrations. However, this is very much a tale of British colonialism and will likely need to be supplemented with further discussions. VERDICT A swashbuckling adventure for large elementary school and nonfiction collections.-Dorcas Hand, formerly at Annunciation Orthodox School, Houston © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Pizzoli takes readers to the pre-GPS era, when "maps of the world still included large 'blank spots'," and introduces cartographer/explorer Percy Fawcett, who disappeared in 1925 while looking for the remnants of an ancient city deep in the Amazon rainforest. Fawcett dubbed this once-mighty metropolis "Z"-maybe, Pizzoli speculates, "because the lost city seemed to be the most remote place in the world, the final stop, like the last letter of the alphabet." As he did in Tricky Vic, Pizzoli combines flat illustrations and elements (like speech balloons) with archival materials, giving the pages the feel of an animated educational film. The narrative can be a little hard to track as Pizzoli recounts the several expeditions Fawcett led for the Royal Geographic Society prior to his private, doomed search for Z. But hardly a page goes by without an enthralling or gory detail, such as the discovery of an expedition scout found "dead, with forty-two arrows in his body," an incident Pizzoli depicts with an image reminiscent of the classic Saul Bass poster for Anatomy of a Murder. Ages 7-10. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Pizzoli (Tricky Vic, rev. 5/15) recounts the true and mysterious tale of Percy Fawcett, the early-twentieth-century British adventurer who disappeared in the rainforests of Brazil while searching for a lost ancient city that he called Z. The straightforward, chronological story is supplemented with maps, logbook-style illustrations (which label creatures and equipment), and sidebars. Dialogue inside speech bubbles (Just stay alive!) is more casual in tone, lightening the narrative. Information in the sidebars delivers background on topics ranging from the Royal Geographical Society in London to mosquitoes. The artists unique mix of techniques (including silkscreen and photocopied content) gives images a thick, textured feel. Repeated zigzag shapes (representing a river switchback, a snake, a ships wake) crisscross up and down the pages, offering visual intrigue. The color palette emits the heat and lush atmosphere of the rainforest, and hues brighten in moments of danger and suspense. Background information regarding colonial history is incomplete, and readers will be left with more questions than answers regarding a scene in which Fawcetts company is attacked by native Amazonians. Sidebars, a glossary, and a list of sources are included. elisa gall (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Pizzoli resurrects an early-20th-century mystery in this riveting portrait of Percy Fawcett, a renowned British explorer who vanished during an ill-fated hunt for a "lost" city.Shortly following an early life of military service to the British Empire, Fawcett dived deep into a career of adventuring. He trained for a year with the Royal Geographical Society, a prominent research center based in London, before the organization began to send him out on expeditions into South America between the years of 1906 and 1924. Pizzoli devotes the first half of Fawcett's tale to building the latter's legend, expertly drawing from Fawcett's thrilling brushes with wildlife and local populations to bring to life the formidable explorer. (An encounter involving a giant anaconda is presented via minimalist illustrations both terrifying and brilliant in scope.) Throughout his various research excursions, Fawcett heard tales of a mythical city deep in the Amazon rain forest. Naming the city "Z," Fawcett soon embarked on what turned out to be his final known expedition, and his subsequent disappearance went on to capture the public's imagination. As in the author's previous gem (Tricky Vic, 2015), the strikingly matte, mixed-media pictures ooze personality and perfectly complement the succinct text and informational sidebars. Predictably, Fawcett's story features a cast of light-skinned characters, with a few brown-skinned individuals included to represent the invisible local populations; his failure to "conquer" in the end represents a fascinating twist on the usual narrative of imperialism. A superb snapshot of an adventurer. (author's note, appendix, glossary, selected sources) (Picture book/biography. 7-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Before the recent innovation of satellite imaging, many regions of the world were shrouded in mystery. One such place was a rumored ancient city, called Z, buried deep in the Amazon rain forest, and, in 1925, British explorer Percy Fawcett endeavored to find it. In his signature blocky art style, Pizzoli offers an engaging biography of the enterprising Fawcett, from his early dreams of adventure to his career charting regions of South America, all culminating in the expedition to find the city of Z, from which he would never return. The soft figures composed of geometric shapes in flat colors give the story a playful feel despite the unfortunate end of its subject, and occasional historical photos and sidebars with facts about the Amazon and early twentieth-century exploration add lots of concrete context. Admirably, Pizzoli notes that most explorers never actually discovered anything; they merely took credit for finding places indigenous groups led them to. With a focus on mystery, peril, and adventure, this inviting biography should easily pique the curiosity of the elementary-school set.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2017 Booklist