Museum Trip

by Barbara Lehman

Museums: filled with mysterious, magical art and curiosities? Or secrets? And what might happen if a boy suddenly became part of one of the mind-bending exhibits? Join the fun in Museum Trip, by Barbara Lehman, the author-illustrator of the Caldecott Honor–winning The Red Book.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Art, Fantasy, Fiction, Adventure, Museums

40 pages, Hardcover

First published May 22, 2006

About the author

Illustrator and author of children's books.

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this wordless picture book tale of a class visit to an art museum, where a boy gets separated from his class and enters a room where there are drawings of mazes. (The art museum itself seems a kind of maze, too.) He enters some of these mazes and successfully traverses them and wins a medal, (for some reason). When he leaves maze-world, this world of imagination, back to the "real world," leaving the art museum, he still has his medal.

I almost always go out of my way to read wordless picture books and comics, so that I liked. Visually this was simple, but I can see a children's study of museums through various picture books (and visits to various museums) being fun and fruitful. This book is abut the museum as a maze of discovery, of imagination. It shows less of the museum than a focus on the mazes he journeys through, though. Lehmann's The Red Book is like this book in that you go into the museum or book to gain experience and live out a fantasy.

P.S.: I also just began reading a bit more ambitious wordless tale of another artistic maze, The Labyrinth!

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting wordless book set in a museum. A boy is visiting the local museum when he loses his group and begins to explore on his own. We see a few famous paintings on the wall. He finds his way into a somewhat secret room where there are ancient mazes on paper. He is able to complete all the mazes and gets a medal and we see the current museum director also has a medal of the same and it makes you think.

It’s a cute story with a museum setting. I can’t believe I haven’t looked for books on museums yet. Why haven’t I? Well, now I have found them and I want to read more on the subject for the kids.

The nephew made up a wonderful story with this. Plus, the niece can’t call this baby just because there are no words. They story was enjoyed by both of them. They each gave it 3 stars. I felt about the same. Even though this is a museum setting, I didn’t think the art was outstanding. It serviced the story.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Museum Trip by Barbara Lehman follows a boy on a trip to a museum as he becomes part of a maze exhibit.

After stopping to tie his shoe, a boy on a museum field trip finds himself alone. Going through a door, he finds a maze exhibit and suddenly finds himself standing outside the first maze pictured. He solves it and goes on to complete all the other mazes. Entering the tower in the last maze, he appears to be presented a medal, which the reader sees by peering through the door's keyhole. The boy finds himself looking at the exhibit pictures again, exits the maze area, and rejoins his class. As he leaves the museum, the boys touches his medal, as a museum staff member watches, touching a similar medal.

This wordless picturebook tells a clear tale with no words other than the title and the word museum seen on the building.

Lehman's brightly colored illustrations are watercolor, gouache and ink. Clearly drawn, most pictures are framed, with a few four panel pages pictured. The boy occasionally looks directly at the reader. His joy at being inside the mazes is well depicted, and his body language is clear. A variety of perspectives are used. I especially liked the picture of the boy running to the next maze with no border around him, bringing the reader right into the story. My other favorite images include the overhead shot of the boy alone in the museum halls, the boy touching the tree in the first maze, and the two closeups of the boy's face studying the first and last maze pictures as he seems to enter and leave the actual mazes.

This is a charming and compelling journey, celebrating imagination, fantasy, and the many fascinating museums waiting to inspire children of all ages. This is a great book to study alone or with a child. I appreciate that the reader must decide if the boy's journey was a fantastic or imagined trip, although the last image pushes the reader towards fantasy. My only quibble is wishing that some of the famous works of art were identified. This book is hightly recommended for school and public library collections.

For all ages, museums, mazes, school field trips, imagination, fantasy, and fans of Barbara Lehman.

[Jimmy Reyes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Museum Trip brings the reader to a favorite institution for many students and that is a visit to a whole world of artifacts, paintings, and sculptures that only a museum can provide. We join the boy on his way into the museum and immediately are surrounded by Vincent Van Gogh paintings and Auguste Rodin sculptures in the great hall of the museum. The temporary distraction by his shoelace and quick fix is all it takes for the young man to realize he is on his own in the great hall of wonders. Barbara Lehman illustrates that sinking feeling of many children who have had the unfortunate circumstance when they are separated from a group. The boy quickly realizes the enormity of the museum as he stairs down the mile-long hallway where no sign of his group is spotted or heard. The next turn around the great hall for this curious boy allows him to experience a drawing up close and personal. Time and imagination has a unique way of joining together to surround the boy in his solo journey to the museum.
Barbara Lehman takes me back to those younger and older years as a curious student of all things artistic, beautiful, and fascinating. As student who has had the fortunate opportunity to see art galleries in SOHO, The MET, Getty Villa, Getty Museum or the Guggenheim and countless other museums, I enjoyed reliving those moments of discovery through Museum Trip. The wonder and beauty of a museum is captured with the author’s simple illustrations and the curious perspective of the boy is further enhanced by his actions into this Museum Trip. As an adult or child I always appreciated those moments of learning and discovery on a museum trip. However, we all learn and take away something different each time we go and that is illustrated well in Museum Trip.

[Ryan Hercik]

Title: Museum Trip
Author and Illustrator: Barbara Lehman
Genre: Wordless Picture Book
Theme(s): Mystery, adventure, and taking risks
Opening line/sentence:
Brief Book Summary: A boy visiting the museum on a field trip with his class but he stopped to tie his shoe, before he knew it everyone else was gone. He slips through a door and ends up shrinking into six mazes. Once he reaches the center it ends his visit and he receives a medal.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: (Hornbook) 40 pp. Houghton (Houghton Mifflin Trade and Reference Division) 2006. ISBN 0-618-58125-1
(2) K-3 In Lehman's new wordless book, the same boy seen in The Red Book visits a museum and shrinks to make his way through drawings of six mazes that become three dimensional. Lehman uses small panels and page turns with eloquent economy, and the art is simple and clean, adding a trompe l'oeil effect with sepia ink and water stains for the maze pages.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: Children's Literature
As she so ably demonstrated in The Red Book (Houghton, 2004), Lehman is a master of wordless storytelling. Here, our hero is introduced on the jacket, pulling aside a sheet of white paper or curtain to reveal the title, with a hint of the mazes to be found inside. On the cover he is seen in the maze almost reaching the center. On the title page he is in line to board the school bus, then, on the next double-page spread, he is looking out the window as the bus drives through town. He starts the museum tour with his class, but after stopping to tie his shoe, he finds himself alone and lost. His adventures while seeking his class take him into a room with many pictures of mazes. They become large enough for him to enter. He finally reaches the center of one, which ends his tour. He leaves the museum with a smile and a medal; so was it only his imagination? Lehman uses very simple line drawings colored with watercolor and gouache paints. They create an ordinary, if curious, youngster and an art museum filled with familiar-looking sculptures and paintings that offer a challenge for readers to identify. Another challenge is the solving of the mazes. Lots to both enjoy and ponder. 2006, Houghton Mifflin Company, Ages 4 to 9.
—Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz
Response to Two Professional Reviews: This books focuses on an adventure through 3D mazes. This is something interesting because it adds another dimension to the story and the museum and general. Since it is a wordless story it gives the imagination plenty of play. This book would be great for reader’s that love predicting and the colorful images.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: Since the pictures tell the story and give the reader room to guess and predict what may happen next. The character is very adventurous and wants to discover just like many kids love to do which make this a great connection. Of course adding a reward at the end for completing the mazes ties up the lose ends in the story because it showed the challenges he had to face to get out of the 3D picture before returning to his classmates.
Consideration of Instructional Application: This book would be perfect to read before a class trip to a museum. After reading it will spark the children’s desire to learn more about the things around them and possible give them guiding questions to think about while they are exhibiting the items throughout. Reflecting back on these questions with a discussion after the trip would wrap up all the lose ends. Also free time can involve small mazes and puzzles for students to complete. I love the way this book allows the reader to have their own interpretation of the story and they can add their own words to each picture on the pages to create their own retelling of “Museum Trip.”

[Karalee Hoge · Rating 4 out of 5]

When you first pick up this book, you notice that it is a square shaped book, which is different than most picturebooks. On the cover you see a boy lifting the page, which is a white background, and revealing a raised stamp and part of a maze. The stamp resembles one that you would get in your passport, which suggests that going to a museum is similar to visiting foreign and far off places. When you remove the dust jacket you see the full image of the maze on a background that looks like as old and water stained map. In the center of the maze you see the boy from the cover running to the center where there's a tree. Inside the book, the end pages are a plain sky blue.

At the beginning of the story we see the boy from the cover getting on to a school bus for, what looks like, a field trip to the museum. As he enters the museum you notice that his shoe is untied. As he bends down to tie his shoe, his teacher and the rest of the class "disappear" and he is left behind. On his own he finds a secret door which leads him to an exhibit with drawn mazes in a glass case. At each maze there is a central goal where he imagines himself traversing through the maze and completing the task. These mazes were very inviting as they encouraged the reader to solve the maze with him. After going through his tasks he earns his reward.

I enjoyed the artwork in this book and you could feel the loss and confusion the boy had at discovering he was separated from his class. You could also feel the pride he had when he completed his tasks before rejoining his class.

[Fjóla · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I really liked the idea of this book, I was a little underwhelmed. I thought the delivery could have been so much better, and the whole story could have been more meaningful. And, I actually thought the story ran a little short on the imagination. Instead, for something similar, I would suggest the Madlenka books. But hey, if you have a kid who loves mazes, they'll probably enjoy this: A little boy is on a field trip with his class to a museum. He enters a room with a display of different mazes, and he goes into them, then comes out, finds his class mates again and leaves the museum, end of story. Funny little detail: In the maze room, aside from the several maze drawings that are displayed under the glass, is an ancient map of Iceland.

My little one loved the maze parts, of course, he poured over them again and again. He also loved The Secret Path, for the exact same reasons.

I like how the story suggests that walking through a museum has similarities with going through a maze, but I miss that the story didn't quite fulfill its potential.

[Amnah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Museum Trip is an adventurous wordless picture book. This book starts when a boy visiting the museum on a field trip with his class. However, the other student was gone because he stopped to tie his shoes. Suddenly, he finds himself alone and lost, and he now becomes part of a maze exhibit. Then he starts six mazes. Finally, the boy reaches the center of one and that was the ends of his imagination tour. In conclusion, he was happy when he leaves the museum and the reader can see a medal on his neck.

Lehman uses nice and clear drawing. The drawings colored with watercolor and gouache paints. In addition, the color tone in most of the story was very bright which attracts the attention of the kids more. Likewise, most of the story background were white, which also help the reader to focus on the main character.
The layout of this book is different because some pages are double-page spread, some contain four pictures on the same page, and some pages have just one element on in with a white background. The illustrations look realistic more than imagination, such as the children's faces, but the actual events depend on the imagination more than realistic events such as when the boy becomes part of a maze exhibit.

Finally, I like this kind of book because it will increase the imaginations of the children when they think or explain what is going on in the story.

[Graeme Cash · Rating 3 out of 5]

Museum Trip is a wordless picture book by Barbara Lehman.

The story follows a young boy on a class trip to a museum. When he stops to tie his shoelace he is separated from his teacher and classmates. The boy enters a room that is a maze exhibit and finds himself reduced in size as he works through and successfully solves the mazes. When he completes the last maze he is awarded a medal. The boy exits the maze exhibit and rejoins his class. He leaves the museum wearing his medal watched by a museum staff member wearing a similar medal.

The simple illustrations are in a combination of ink, gouache and watercolour. Although the illustrations are bright and colourful in my opinion they are a little to neat and clean.

There are artworks by the likes of Van Gogh, Picasso, Goya, Rousseau throughout the museum although young readers are likely to miss this added detail.

This book would suit an independent reader. Young readers will enjoy being able to help the boy find the centre and exit to the maze. There are six mazes in the book to solve.

[Rubi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally cute picture book! I just happened to pick up while on a trip to the Thrift Store haha
I love how the kid's imagine drew him into the mazes in the museum. And for thoughtful kids, trying out the mazes in the illustrations might be a fun activity.
It really reminded me how my imagination as a kid really came to life for me in anything around me. I wish kid's still played like this and used creativity.
I'd recommend it to any child and encourage them to use their creativity and imaginations....to play and think outside the box.
We shouldn't always scold them when they get lost, but show them we love them and let it go and maybe help them learn something from it to.
This kid had a great adventure (in his head) because he got seperated from his group, but he found his way again :)
Really like it. :)

[Aileen Galaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wordless picture book is about a boy getting lost on his field trip to the museum. His problem started because he stopped to tie his shoe and fell behind from the group. If you notice the illustrations of the art in this scene and the scenes after all have a placed emphasis on the feet. There is even on statue that is holding his feet. You also see that Lehman puts a thin black line around most of her illustrations and has some pages that have 4 snapshot-like illustrations of what is happening. This book is a square shape with a cover that is different from the dust cover. The front cover of the book includes a maze where the boy is trying to find his way out which is what he has to do in the story, while the front is sort of him uncovering that maze. It is a fun book with clean lines and a lot of white. the colors are very soft and a little muted.

[Kristin Rosenberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wordless book with simple but elegant illustrations, this book follows a boy who gets separated from my class while at a museum trip. While trying to find the rest of his class, he appears to get sucked into one of the art pieces at the museum where he then solves mazes and is awarded with a medal. Having escaped the mazes, he is reunited with his class, and leaves after discovering that the (I think) director of the museum has a similar medal.

I... I don't get it. I would be worried that a kid would see this book and be tempted to wander away from their class on purpose. Maybe if there had been some kind of intensive for him to get through the mazes, it would have made more sense to me personally. Overall, I didn't dislike it, I just didn't get it.

[Shelby Dains · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book because it would be good for young readers because it has no words, so it is more for preschool and younger. Also maybe just for students who want to look at a book and use their imagination on what words would be written in the book. That could be a good writing assignment for students to look at the book and write about how they think the story goes or how they believe the little boy feels as he gets lost in the museum and then the maze. The students could write their own story to go along with the illustrations.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice wordless book, but slightly hard for me to follow.

[Alana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awards:None
Grade level: Prek-3
Summary: A class takes a field trip to a museum and a boy stops to tie his show. He then looks at an exhibit and discovers himself within a set of mazes. Follow his journey through the mazes.
My Review: This wordless book is so simple yet intriguing to read. I really liked this book because of the illustrated along with the sense of mystery and adventure.
In Class: This book would be good to read before going to museum because students might want to “get lost” within an exhibit, (but with supervision). It also helps children to pay attention to details and pick up on small details. This book can also be used to explain how not all stories need to have words.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wordless picture book with simple illustrations requiring the "reader" to pay close attention to detail.

[Shiloah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. I wish he would have visited with his family.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Attention to detail and the little quirks makes this such an enjoyable book—these are Lehman’s trademarks. A hidden room featuring mazes guarded by a Minotaur? Brilliant! And the experience of finding ourselves not just looking at the maze or art but entering into it is a common one that Lehman leverages so well. Even the final doorknob appears to be a small maze! The Minotaur smiles approvingly as the explorer reenters the main exhibit hall with his medal, and numerous well-known art pieces now resonate with some aspect of a maze! The final touch and salute on the last page generates another pattern to enjoy.

[Nicole Raabe · Rating 2 out of 5]

1) No awards

2) Age level: prekindergarten-3rd grade

3) Summary: A class of children are visiting a museum. A young boy in the class gets lost from the rest of his class and finds himself entering a series of mazes and becoming one with the exhibits. He follows his own adventure on the trip, and later rejoins with the rest of the students.

4) Review: I did not particularly enjoy this book. I felt that the illustrations were not interesting enough to engage the children in the storyline. They may get bored of the story, or even confused. Although some may feel a sense of adventure when flipping through, I most likely would not select this picture book to "read" to my class.

5) In Class uses:
-Could possibly print small mazes similar to the one in the story for children to complete as a fun and short activity that still challenges the brain
-Demonstrate to children the advantages of exploring their surroundings, teaching them that learning can be fun and look different than just sitting in the classroom
-talk about their experiences in a museum

[Brianda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Museum Trip was about a group of children visit the museum. The main character got behind the group because he needed to tie his shoe once he noticed was alone it was up to him to find his way back to his school group. On his way through the museum he discovered a hidden door inside the room there was a table laid out with diagrams of multiple mazes throughout the book. It seemed the little boy was inside the maze once he finished one maze he would be in a different maze. The book gave an illusion he was inside the maze but, in the end he was simply looking at the diagrams. the layout of the picture where simply but may the reader understand whats going on. The story mades the reader think that if you ever decided to tour a museum to be care, you can get lost in the hidden treasures a museum may have.

[Meghann Sniffen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awards the book has received (if any): none
Appropriate grade level(s): kindergarten- second
Original 3-line summary: When a little boy goes to the museum with his class he soon becomes lost. While he is lost, he wanders around the museum and starts to become part of the exhibit. Throughout the book he makes his own "story" and later joins the group without there knowledge of what a day he had.
Original 3-line review: I personally thought the book was cute. The illustrations were very simple which would be easy for children to resonate with.
2-3 possible in-class uses: children could possibly see what not to do in a museum, i.e. don't stray from the group
- children could also see how fun a museum could be

[Patricia Teskera · Rating 3 out of 5]

1. No awards
2. Preschool to 3rd grade
3. Stopping to tie his shoe, a boy quickly becomes lost in a museum on his school field trip. He enters a room with a maze exhibit and before he knows it, he is in the maze himself! He makes his way out of each of the six mazes and receives a medal and in no time he is back with his class and ready to leave.
4. I liked this book because it was about exploring. It also encourages children to visit museums. I thought there should’ve been different exhibits for the boy to have explored rather than just mazes but I still liked the story line.
5. Have them do mazes; go over what to do if you get lost.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Museum trip was about a class who took a field trip to the museum. The main character is the young little boy in the red sweater. He got left behind from his classmates because he stopped to tie his shoe and it was up to him to find them. When he was trying to find his classmates he came across to a door and opened it and in that room there were a lot of mazes put across the table. Every maze he came across he pictured himself in it. The book it seem that he was inside the maze, but in reality he was just looking at the mazes picturing himself in them. At the end he finds his classmates and no one realized he was ever gone.

[Alexis Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is about a boy who goes on a class field trip to the museum. He at one point stops to tie his shoe and when hes done he finds himself all alone and away from his group. While trying to find his way back to his classmates he explores the museum. He finds himself looking at a picture of a maze in which he then finds himself in a maze. He goes through a few mazes and at the end he receives a medal. He gets back with his classmates and when leaving the museum, he touches his medal.
This book had bright colors to it with some white edges. it was about imagination, adventure, achievement, and i believe sent the message to keep going and you'll get to where you need to be.

[Fatima · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the third Lehman book I read (and I just read them all one after another) so although this was better than the secret box, it was also boring and expected from Lehman. Not sure I even knew who she was before yesterday but reading multiple books of hers paints a clear common picture: Lehman likes to "open doors to other worlds". In the red book, the book is the portal, in the secret box, the pier is the portal, and in museum trip, the mazes are the portal. Individually her books are alright but when you put them together it's basically the same concept over and over again.

[Kelly Ayala · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is interesting to look at, it starts off with a boy getting separated from his class in a museum trip, he then finds himself in a maze exhibit. I found this to be the most intriguing because kids often are easily distracted and can easily get lost. I wondered if kids ever feel like when getting lost in school or day dreaming they find themselves trying to figure out whatever seems like a maze to them at that time. I enjoyed his journey and im sure kids would too!

[Elysa Harwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Museum Trip is based off of a boy losing his class while on a field trip to the art museum. He uses his own imagination to get lost in the pieces of the museum. I thought it was interesting because I did not know what to expect. I did think the book was too short and there was more to add on but it is a children's book. Overall, I did enjoy the simple drawings and the story.

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

the two museum books go well together

Argh! which was the other one? Seen Art? or something else I can't remember?

[Hayley Murray-Alvarado · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concept Book 2006
I love that even though there are no words, you get to go on a journey with this little boy and see things through his eyes. I would use this in my classroom as a book in my library. I think this book could be great for visual learners or ELLs.

[emyrose8 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5