Miranda the Explorer: A Magical Round-the-World Adventure

by James Mayhew

Miranda wins a balloon ride—but the rope snaps and away she goes, over seas, mountains, and deserts. She touches down at the Taj Mahal and the Pyramids, flies over the Great Wall of China, visits Japan, almost falls into a river full of crocodiles in Australia, makes some new friends at the Leaning Tower of Pisa, is buffeted by storms over the Channel, and much more. Miranda is a brave and resourceful character whose adventures are shown in delightful pictures of the places she visits. With map backgrounds and place names, this is a big story with lots of action, told with warmth and humor.

Genres: Picture Books, Adventure, Geography, Maps, Africa, Travel, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2002

About the author

James Mayhew's first book for children was Katie's Pictures Show, (Orchard Books 1989) establishing the long running series about a child's adventures in an art gallery. Many of his books have a cultural agenda and James is passionate about introducing children to art, music, opera, ballet and traditional tales.

He has published over 60 books, and illustrated and written for many other colleagues including Philippa Pearce, Martin Waddell and Jackie Morris.

As a storyteller he has devised and performed a series of sell-out concerts for children with the de Havilland Philharmonic Orchestra, and has participated in prom performances at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

He has also created designs and illustrations for the Kirov Mariinsky Opera of St Petersburg and in 1994 won the New York Times award for one of the ten best illustrated books on the year (The Boy and The Cloth of Dreams).

He has made regular appearances at the National Galleries in Edinburgh and London and visits many schools, and arts and literary festivals.

James is a member of the Art Worker's Guild and the Society of Authors.

Reviews

[Kathryn]

A fanciful round-the-world adventure as a little girl takes flight in a hot air balloon. I appreciate the way it introduces children to various landmarks around the world, both man-made, such as St. Basil's Cathedram, Taj Mahal, Statue of Liberty, Pyramids of Giza, Great Wall of China, and some natural wonders such as The Grand Canyon and Uluru (Ayers Rock). However, I disliked the stereotypes (for example, she lands in "a busy marketplace full of snake charmers and fire eaters, bright colours and spicy smells. This was India!") It's a little hard to follow the course of her journey and, while the map at the back is nice, it would have been better to include a flight path and star the places she visits.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

It has 74 pages in total. Good story.

[Mathew · Rating 3 out of 5]

After winning a competition, Miranda is gifted with a hot air balloon. When she gets it, it whisks her off around the world where she sees some key landmarks from different countries.
There really isn't much story and it felt like a story to show different landmarks such as Ayers Rock and the Taj Mahal. On saying this, Mayhew is a talented illustrator whose work has a touch of Shirley Hughes to it.
This book has a lot of cross Curricular potential with plenty to explore with regards to different cultures and, perhaps, a real exploration of the diversity that exists in these different settings.

[Nicola · Rating 2 out of 5]

In theory, it should be an appealing way to introduce kids to various famous landmarks and Wonders of the World (from the Pyramids of Giza, to Big Ben, to the Taj Mahal, to the Hollywood sign) but the illustration style didn't grab our attention and the text was lacking in appeal. Miss 3 would normally love stuff to do with maps and adventures but she found it boring.

[Beth Pollard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Miranda the Explorer has a very simple story-line that didn't really capture my attention. I found it quite stereotypical throughout as she visited the main attractions in each country, and the people and children she met all looked very stereotypical and were depicted doing stereotypical things, for example an Egyptian boy riding a camel, a French lady with poodles. I can see that children would enjoy following Miranda on her adventures, but this isn't a book I would choose to take from the shelf again.

[Jami Good · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once I got past the awkward beginning, where the balloon is irresponsibly sent on its way with a small child inside...this was a cute story. I liked how the greetings from all the people in all the countries were written in English and that country's language. I liked that all children around the world were kind and generous and helpful, no matter where they lived. I cheered for Miranda making the best of her situation, and learning how to navigate her balloon...and just taking charge of her adventures!

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miranda wins a competition in which she gets a flip in a hot air balloon. Things go wrong and Miranda ends up travelling alone in the hot air balloon. She visits lovely places and samples some of the delicacies there. She gets to view each places tourist attraction. She befriends children from other countries, and they help her to control the hot air balloon and to repair it. Really an adventurous story and a really sweet read.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

2-3 stars for the writing but 5 for the beautiful illustrations. I have high hopes for James Mayhew's books, but this is another book where the writing was forced to accommodate the illustrations and suffered as a result.

[Charlie Moran · Rating 4 out of 5]

The kids at school loved it - great way to look at travelling and introduce different places.

[Tyler Barnett · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is lacking as it is really just showcasing different landmarks. Having said that, the illustrations are stunning and there is a lot of potential for cross-curricular links to be made.

[Jenna Mills · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the idea, ridiculous as it is, but the execution... Not keen on the stereotypes.

[The Brothers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miranda wins a prize in a painting contest which is a ride in a hot-air balloon. The balloon becomes untethered and so begins Miranda's amazing adventure around the world. She sees all the neat sights and meets lots of lovely people before touching down again on her home shores.

Detailed and interesting illustrations.