This article needs additional citations for
verification. (November 2015) |
![]() First US edition cover | |
Author | Willard Price |
---|---|
Language | English |
Series | Willard Price's Adventure series |
Genre |
Young adult Adventure novel |
Publisher | John Day (US) |
Publication date | 1949 |
Followed by | South Sea Adventure |
Amazon Adventure is a 1949 children's novel by the Canadian- American author Willard Price featuring his " Adventure" series characters, Hal and Roger Hunt. It depicts an expedition to the Amazon River to capture animals for their father's wildlife collection business. Initially published by John Day in the US, the UK edition was published two years later by Jonathan Cape.
Dorothy Hinman, reviewing the book for Elementary English in February 1950, wrote:
The authentic experiences presented by Willard Price in this account of a trip through the Amazon jungle in themselves would offer to an adult sufficient excitement. The author's addition of the mystery and his too free use of coincidence to extricate the characters from every predicament of danger make most of the story unconvincing [...] But for the upper-grade boy ‒ the more excitement, danger, and mystery the better. He will likely judge this a rousing good adventure story. [1]
English author Anthony McGowan, who revived the Adventure series in 2012, has cited Amazon Adventure as the series' best entry "from a literary point of view". [2]
Timothy Gaynor has criticised Willard Price's depiction of the Amazon, writing that Price "exaggerates the perils posed by the Amazonian fauna to an absurdly hyperbolic degree. In this text the Amazon is a phantasmagoria of man-eating piranhas and anacondas that lie in wait to devour the hapless adventurers. Needless to say, the resourceful boy heroes see their way through this challenge while their "native" manservants perish horribly." [3] Referencing the passage where the Hunts purchase a shrunken head for museum display, Sandra Pannell notes the novel's "themes of collecting and cultural hegemony, appropriation and aesthetization". [4]
Species | Name | Details |
---|---|---|
Iguana | Lured onto the boys' boat by Roger's singing | |
Anaconda | The brave Indian Aqua was killed while attempting to capture this snake | |
Boa constrictor | Several dozen baby boa constrictors were also acquired when the captured mother gave birth | |
Tapir | Nosey | Nosey's mother was shot down while attacking the Hunts' camp |
Vampire bat | Vamp | Roger is given the task of regularly providing fresh blood for the bat, usually from a capybara |
Marmoset | Specs | |
Jabiru | Stilts | Captured when it tried to raid the boys' fish stocks. |
Wood ibis | This bird was eaten when an anaconda boarded the boat and smashed open the cage | |
Basilisk | The enthusiastic Indian Aqua captured this lizard | |
Electric eel | Was captured while the boys were on the floating island. The electric eel is used to overpower Croc once they catch up with their boat | |
Giant anteater | One giant anteater was killed during a capture attempt, but a second was captured safely | |
Sloth | ||
Armadillo | ||
Amazon deer | Was used as bait to lure the anaconda, but survived the ordeal | |
Two jaguars | Includes one very rare black jaguar, which was captured using "bird-lime." |
This article needs additional citations for
verification. (November 2015) |
![]() First US edition cover | |
Author | Willard Price |
---|---|
Language | English |
Series | Willard Price's Adventure series |
Genre |
Young adult Adventure novel |
Publisher | John Day (US) |
Publication date | 1949 |
Followed by | South Sea Adventure |
Amazon Adventure is a 1949 children's novel by the Canadian- American author Willard Price featuring his " Adventure" series characters, Hal and Roger Hunt. It depicts an expedition to the Amazon River to capture animals for their father's wildlife collection business. Initially published by John Day in the US, the UK edition was published two years later by Jonathan Cape.
Dorothy Hinman, reviewing the book for Elementary English in February 1950, wrote:
The authentic experiences presented by Willard Price in this account of a trip through the Amazon jungle in themselves would offer to an adult sufficient excitement. The author's addition of the mystery and his too free use of coincidence to extricate the characters from every predicament of danger make most of the story unconvincing [...] But for the upper-grade boy ‒ the more excitement, danger, and mystery the better. He will likely judge this a rousing good adventure story. [1]
English author Anthony McGowan, who revived the Adventure series in 2012, has cited Amazon Adventure as the series' best entry "from a literary point of view". [2]
Timothy Gaynor has criticised Willard Price's depiction of the Amazon, writing that Price "exaggerates the perils posed by the Amazonian fauna to an absurdly hyperbolic degree. In this text the Amazon is a phantasmagoria of man-eating piranhas and anacondas that lie in wait to devour the hapless adventurers. Needless to say, the resourceful boy heroes see their way through this challenge while their "native" manservants perish horribly." [3] Referencing the passage where the Hunts purchase a shrunken head for museum display, Sandra Pannell notes the novel's "themes of collecting and cultural hegemony, appropriation and aesthetization". [4]
Species | Name | Details |
---|---|---|
Iguana | Lured onto the boys' boat by Roger's singing | |
Anaconda | The brave Indian Aqua was killed while attempting to capture this snake | |
Boa constrictor | Several dozen baby boa constrictors were also acquired when the captured mother gave birth | |
Tapir | Nosey | Nosey's mother was shot down while attacking the Hunts' camp |
Vampire bat | Vamp | Roger is given the task of regularly providing fresh blood for the bat, usually from a capybara |
Marmoset | Specs | |
Jabiru | Stilts | Captured when it tried to raid the boys' fish stocks. |
Wood ibis | This bird was eaten when an anaconda boarded the boat and smashed open the cage | |
Basilisk | The enthusiastic Indian Aqua captured this lizard | |
Electric eel | Was captured while the boys were on the floating island. The electric eel is used to overpower Croc once they catch up with their boat | |
Giant anteater | One giant anteater was killed during a capture attempt, but a second was captured safely | |
Sloth | ||
Armadillo | ||
Amazon deer | Was used as bait to lure the anaconda, but survived the ordeal | |
Two jaguars | Includes one very rare black jaguar, which was captured using "bird-lime." |