SOLVED. Middle Grade Fiction Book about Two Explorers during the 1500s. [s]

[Stephanie]

I read this book while I was in elementary school so around the years 2004 - 2007. From what I remember, this is a young adult novel that had two main characters, each explorers or adventurers in a fictional world though the setting seems during the Age of Exploration. One of the main characters was named Jacques and was the more competent explorer, and the other, though I don't remember his name, I believe, was blond and younger, with a more eccentric nature.

These explorers traveled across the world and had multiple adventures. One of the plots from the book was that they were looking for an animal or helping a king from a far-off kingdom collect animals for his menagerie, and I remember that specific word being used to describe where he kept his animals. Another adventure, though I'm not sure if this was a separate book or in the same book, was that they were helping a princess who was in trouble and unable to leave her castle. One of the explorers tries to climb up a wall to reach her.

I also vividly remember some (very few) illustrations sprinkled throughout the book. The Jacques character was more burly with curly brown hair, and the other character was smaller and thinner with blond hair. I also remember that one was dressed in blue and the other in red.

The world-building done by the author was incredibly impactful and well done, as these explorers encountered many different environments and terrains. Unfortunately, that is all the information that I have for the book. I have been searching for years and have been unable to find it so any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Becca]

The Bartlett series by Odo Hirsch? The explorers are Bartlett and Jacques. The first book in the series is Bartlett and the Ice Voyage.

[Stephanie]

Yes this is exactly the books! Thank you so much!!! I’ve literally been looking for this book for over 10 years! So grateful for you and this page!