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A favourite book - Journey to the River Sea

Weekly Topic: My favorite book and why students should read it

Hannah N

Apr 1, 2026

One of my favourite books as a child and one I still like to re-read as an adult occassionally is "Journey to the River Sea" by Eva Ibbotson.

This is a story for children, but it is still an interesting read for adults, which I think makes it a great book for English learners! I believe a great way to practise and improve your English is by reading books, and fun children stories are much easier to learn with.  You can pick up a lot of natural vocabulary and sentence structures from stories.

"Journey to the River Sea" is set in 1910 and follows the story of Maia, an orphaned girl who is sent from England to Brazil to live with distant family.  You can not only practise English, but learn about the culture and customs of 1910 (Edwardian) England, as well as Brazil!  Maia's relatives work in the rubber plantation industry at Manaus, which was indeed a booming industry at the time. Maia ends up having a huge adventure travelling around the Amazon rainforest.

I highly recommend this book, if you read it and enjoy it too feel free to send me a message! If you need any help reading it, we can also read it together in class. :)






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