Author: Lori Mortensen
Illustrator: Kristy Caldwell
Peachtree Publishing Company
1 March 2019
36 pages
From the publisher: “Isabella Bird was like a wild vine stuck in a too-small pot. She needed more room. She had to get out. She had to explore.
That was easier said than done in Victorian England. But somehow Isabella persisted, and with each journey, she breathed in new ways to see and describe everything around her.”
This picture book biography about the first female member of the Royal Geographic Society takes readers around the world with a daring nineteenth-century female explorer and author.
Need some reviews of Away with Words?
Want more? Here’s the official book trailer.
And here’s an interview with author Lori Mortensen at Storysnug.
Educational Activities inspired by Lori Mortensen’s Away with Words: The Daring Story of Isabella Bird:
- Before Reading–Ask students:
- “What does it mean to be daring? What type of people are daring?”
- “Look at the lady riding a horse on the front cover. Why do you think she’s got a book in her hands?”
- “The back cover has these words ‘Henceforth, I must live my own life.’ What do you think Isabella meant when she said that?”
- After Reading–Isabella felt healthier and happier when she traveled. What type of activities make you feel healthier and happier?
- After Reading–Which of Isabella’s adventures sound most exciting? Having dinner with two apes in Malaysia? Climbing for three days to reach a monastery built high atop snowcapped peaks? Riding a steamboat down the Mississippi River? Something else?
- Writing–The next time you explore a new place, do as Isabella did–write down your thoughts and observations on a piece of paper. Use vivid language that paints a picture in the reader’s mind, like how she wrote “strutting wild turkeys,” “narrow rims of metal,” and “the yellow sun sank cloudless behind the waves of rolling prairie.” Consider sharing your work with friends or adults.
- Travel Craft–With an adult’s help, print up photos of your last adventure/vacation and make a scrapbook out of loose sheets of paper. Glue down your favorite pictures, then decorate the pages with crayons, markers, and glitter, as you see fit. Use a three-hole punch to make holes down the left side of the pages after they’ve dried, then tie them together with pieces of yarn, string, or ribbon.
- Further Reading–Check out the following five picture books about traveling and exploring. To learn more about any of these, click on the book covers!
This looks fantastic! Can’t wait to read and share it.
It’s hard to go wrong with a Lori Mortensen book!