Explorers

by Matthew Cordell

From Caldecott Medalist Matthew Cordell, Explorers is a new picture book about an extraordinary trip to a museum.

When a family goes to a local museum, a boy notices a homeless man sitting outside, making brightly colored origami birds. He convinces his dad to buy a bird the man makes just for him.

Once inside the museum, his little sister takes the bird and launches it into the air. Is it lost? Soon another boy helps him look, and the paper bird brings two families―and two new friends―together.

With the style he used in Wolf in the Snow, Matthew Cordell shows how an ordinary family outing can be both extraordinary and magical.

Genres: Picture Books, Friendship, Childrens, Family, Fiction, Magic, Museums

40 pages, Hardcover

First published September 24, 2019

About the author

Matthew Cordell is the acclaimed author and illustrator of the 2018 Caldecott winner Wolf in the Snow. He is also the author and illustrator of Trouble Gum and the illustrator of If the S in Moose Comes Loose, Toot Toot Zoom!, Mighty Casey, Righty and Lefty, and Toby and the Snowflakes, which was written by his wife. Matthew lives in the suburbs of Chicago with his wife, writer Julie Halpern, and their daughter, Romy.

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book on friendship and sharing. A homeless man gives a young boy an origami bird before he goes inside a museum. His sister takes the bird - and for a time it seems as if it is lost. This book really looks closely at our interactions everyday; how we go about our life and how we intersect with other people. Very nice art!

[Villain E · Rating 4 out of 5]

A silent picture book about how we're all really the same. A white family visits a museum. The son has a flying toy insect which he throws around. At one point, it's caught by a boy in a muslim family who returns it. Later, the boy follows the toy and loses track of his family. The muslim family helps him find them.

From the title and cover image, I was expecting something completely different. But I liked the story I got.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful wordless tale of a family trip to a museum, sharing and a little magic. Loved it!

[Mrs. Mazzola · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Matthew Cordell is such a talented author/illustrator and his books always give me all the feels. This story was no different. With almost no text, it depicted compassion, friendship, family dynamics and more, there was inclusive representation in the drawings, and it's a clear nod to my favorite museum in Chicago. This book only gets better with multiple re-readings because there is so much to take in on each page. Will definitely be sharing with my students!

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful ode to museums and making new friends. Iove the nods to my favorite Chicago museum.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this almost wordless picture book [the only text consists of the sounds made by the flying origami bird and the snatching of the flyer by human hands] a boy and his parents and little sister head off to the museum to spend a day looking at all the fascinating exhibits. Along the way, they see a homeless man who is fashioning origami birds. The boy simply must have one, and the father gives a donation to the man. The group is divided on what to look at first, and the boy keeps flying his paper bird all around the exhibits, tossing it and then racing to catch it before it hits the ground. Some readers may be annoyed at his behavior, which is distracting and could possibly cause damage to the exhibits while others may appreciate his joyous activity. The family moves past prehistoric creatures, military equipment worn by knights, mummies, and other wonderous sights. When a boy from another family catches the flying bird, the boy quickly grabs back his possession, and is reprimanded by his father. When the family takes a break, his younger sister tosses the bird into the air, and the boy is unable to find it. It's eventually returned by the same boy he met earlier. The families spend time getting to know each other while exploring the butterfly exhibit. Readers won't need text to read between the lines and understand how two families from very different cultures manage to find some commonalities. As the day ends, the boy rewards his new friend with a gift, and readers are left pondering the role of that homeless vendor and the magic he created through that origami bird. Sometimes all it takes to make a friend or explore the world is having an open mind and open heart and not being quick to judge othersor expect the worst from them. Created with pen and ink and watercolor, the illustrations bear repeated reading as there is so much to see in each one.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A family is headed to the natural history museum. They stop for hot dogs on the street outside and the boy gets a flying toy insect from a man set up beside the hot dog vender with the word "Magic" above his stall. The family proceeds through the museum, mainly following wherever the boy's insect toy flies. When someone else picks up the toy, the boy responds harshly. Will he make things right before he leaves?

There's a little lesson in here about not only jumping to conclusions, but that friendships can be found even with people who don't look like you. (The boy and his family are Caucasian, the kid who picks it up is darker skinned and the ladies in his family are wearing head coverings.) There are no words except for the "Magic" over the insect toy vendor's stall. But the body language is very telling. It is easy to tell what is going on for kids who get body language (and those who don't may find this a good book to use to learn expressions from). I couldn't help but wonder how a real museum security guard would respond. I'd guess that the boy's toy would've been grounded seconds after entry, but for the purpose of the story it works well (and I could see kids getting away with it in a kid's museum). Hand this to wordless book fans, friendship story fans, and kids learning how to interact positively with strangers.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little confused about this one. After buying an origami bird from a man on the street, a family goes to a museum. Several times the boy loses the bird and it is returned by another family. The owner of the bird is not gracious. Eventually, however, the two families become friends and visit the rest of the museum together.

[Margaret Boling · Rating 4 out of 5]

3/8/2020 ~ The story of the kids is interesting, but the expressions on the parents' faces are priceless! Images (and graphic novels) really are a powerful way of helping kids learn empathy.

7/2/2019 ~ I'd like to know the story behind the scenes for the publication of this book. The entry for this ISBN here in GoodReads describes a book about a Pegasus with a 2016 release date.
GoodReads description as copies & pasted on 7/2/2019:
Liz Szabla at Feiwel and Friends acquired North American rights to Little Jupiter by Matthew Cordell, author-illustrator of Another Brother.
In the new book, despite his mythological pals’ skepticism, young Pegasus, sets out on a quest to prove the existence of the unsavory and elusive creature known as “human.”

I'm guessing the story changed significantly from the original pitch. However, this is the ISBN that corresponds to the book Explorers with a release date of 9/24/2019.

Why I want to read this book:
https://twitter.com/knott_michele/sta...

[Tina Hoggatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly affecting wordless book by a master storyteller and illustrator (and he has the Caldecott - for Wolf In The Snow - to prove it). In the opening pages a family gets lunch and encounters a homeless man advertising Magic, paper airplane-like insects/birds. The son buys one and flies it throughout the family's visit to a natural history museum. At one point the toy is caught by a boy in another family and there are hard feelings, but the story circles back as the toy is truly lost, and as its owner is lost in the museum as well. The toy is launched back to him by the boy from earlier and he is also reunited with his family. Together, the families explore the butterfly display in a scene that is lovely, heartwarming, and uplifting. In the end the toy's owner gives it to his counterpart, thinking to buy another outside. But the 'Magic' and the maker is gone, or has the greatest magic, of friendship and amity, been granted already? Beautiful. I appreciated that one fo the families was white and one islamic (the mother wears a hijab), lending a model for acceptance and possibility.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who needs words when you have Matthew Cordell's wonderful Illustrations! My granddaughters and I visit our Museum of Nature and Science often and this story reminds me of all that happens, except for that paper airplane that does not keep this boy out of trouble. This family of four walk and look and enjoy, but flying the plane in such a wide-open space makes a distraction that isn't fun, especially when the plane ends in the hands of another child, and the owner snatches it back. Diversity of families plays a part in this wordless picture book where you have to look carefully at expressions, from anger to thoughtfulness to kindness, which creates a very nice story. This is one that really needs to be "seen"!

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Explorers, Matthew Cordell once again proves that a picture is worth a thousand words. This wordless picture book begins with a family outing to a history museum. A magical encounter makes for an especially engaging experience for a little boy—though much to the detriment of those around him—but when he loses something important, an opportunity for redemption presents itself. A story of forgiveness, friendship, and magic where you least expect it, Explorers is one you just can’t miss!

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

What drew me to this mostly was the art, which is a bit of a mix between Quentin Blake and James Stevenson, two of my favorites. But I felt the story was thin and dragged on a bit too long and finished a bit too cliched. No self-respecting parent would let their kid play with a flying toy in a museum, and any that did would be shut down posthaste by the nearest museum guard. And this is the premise upon which the narrative rests.
As always, all due respect for picture book creators. I'm not one and I know it's hard work. But this wasn't for me.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wordless book
An ordinary family outing to the museum becomes magical after a young boy buys an origami bird from a homeless man. Readers can easily follow the story and flesh out the adventures as they explore as a family and interact with other patrons. The boy gets lost and the family they met helps him find his family though he was rude to their little boy.
Many things to talk about with readers as they examine the illustrations.

[Erin]

Wordless books almost always benefit from some discussion. This one offers a lot of opportunity to talk about feelings and behavior and what to do if you get lost. There was also a lot of "what do you think just happened?" and putting together picture clues to create what was happening in the story. It was fun to follow the bird around the museum.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story told only in pictures of a family's day out at the museum. Seems like the author is also trying to touch on some social issues like homelessness and race. There is a small message of getting along when the boy has a disagreement with another boy in the museum. At any rate, you could take this sweet story in many directions.

[Kelly]

Yeah, I mean, it was fine. I'm not a Cordell fan to begin with, so saying this might be my favorite of his books isn't saying much, but yeah. It was cool how the book started right away even before the copyright and title pages.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this wordless picture book, a family takes a trip to a museum and an act of kindness and forgiveness bring them together with another family. This is a beautifully illustrated story with a great message.

[Abby Johnson]

A family takes a most interesting trip to a museum in this nearly wordless book from Caldecott medal winner Cordell. I love how expressive the art is and there are tons of details to take in. I think you could get something new out of this book on each read.

[Jeanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wordless picture book. The title on the edition I have is "Explorers." Could be a good way to introduce small children to museums before, or as a vehicle for discussion after, a first museum visit.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magic!

[Vernon Area Public Library KIDS · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this wordless picture book, Caldecott winner Matthew Cordell shows how a homeless man creates magical birds out of paper for a little boy. The paper bird gets lost in the museum until another family joins in the hunt. I love the story of friendship, and two families bonding over a lost item.

Reviewed by Debbie Hersh, Circulation, Vernon Area Public Library

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A preschool and up no words picture book about a family visiting a museum where they loose a toy and continually bump into another family.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is so much to read in this wordless picture book. Friendship, movement discovery, diversity, family, magic... one that could be read over and over with new discoveries and interpretations.

[Aolund · Rating 2 out of 5]

In terms of story (told all in pictures, no words), this book was slightly confusing even to me, a grown adult. The pacing, motions, panel-choices...all felt a bit off, and that's to say nothing of the fact that the white children and the brown children inexplicably end up being friends at the end despite the white boy repeatedly snatching his toy back from the brown boy and never apologizing for being rude. Of course, even sticky representations like this present a good opportunity for discussion, but that feels like giving Cordell credit for doing something he didn't really do intentionally.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 4 out of 5]

A family visiting a natural history museum buys a "magical" origami bird for the little boy.

The bird flies through the museum as they look at the various exhibits. It introduces them to another family, who helps when the bird gets lost.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

wordless

[Roben · Rating 4 out of 5]

A magical book about family and finding new friends and learning to share and show gratitude. Also about being afraid when you are lost in a big place.

[Dina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wordless picture book that teaches kindness...you can't go wrong with it! I like the diverse set of characters introduced in the book and the artwork.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A museum visit leads to a new friendship in this mostly wordless story about magic in an ordinary outing.