Blog Tour: Escape to the River Sea
Today, it is my great pleasure to start the Blog Tour for ‘Escape to the River Sea’, Emma Carroll’s brilliant sequel to Eva Ibbotson’s classic, ‘Journey to the River Sea’.
The theme of this post is journeys. Journeys can be taken through the imagination, through experience, through travel- or much simpler, every day trips, offering the familiarity of places we love and treasure. The central character in ‘Escape to the River Sea’, Rosa, has already made the journey to England on the Kindertransport before launching into the adventure of a lifetime- a trip to the Amazon rainforest. Through Emma’s evocative narrative, the reader is able to journey with Rosa as she travels, relishing the sights and sounds of each location she encounters.
I was asked to think about a couple of my favourite journeys for this post before Emma shares hers. This was a surprisingly hard task…
Travel has always been very important to me and I have many wonderful memories of special journeys. One of my favourite trips in the UK, however, has to be to Ashdown Forest, the 100 Aker Wood where Christopher Robin played. Not only was it a joy to finally play Poohsticks on the bridge after so many years of wanting to visit, this was also our first trip away from home after my husband had had heart surgery. The drizzle meant that we had the whole space to ourselves- allowing me to recite the hums of Pooh to my heart’s content!
A favourite journey overseas has to be to China. When we went many years ago on our honeymoon, there were not many tourists and it was an incredible experience. Favourite moments include visiting the Forbidden City, seeing the incredible terracotta warriors, walking on the Great Wall and taking tea in the Yuyuan Gardens. (Please excuse the poor copies of my pre-digital photos! The terracotta warriors picture is from the shop- we weren’t allowed to take pictures in the Mausoleum Site Museum).
Emma’s favourite journeys…
A favourite journey in the UK... The road home. I live in a steep valley, so the road down into my village gives the most brilliant views out over the countryside. It never fails to make my heart lift a little.
A favourite journey overseas...taking the mountain bus in Ecuador from Otavalo to Esmeraldas on the coast. We drove up into the mists on a bus crammed with other travellers, live chickens and guinea pigs. The road was twisty and narrow, with heart-stopping drops on either side. I'll never forget it!
You can read my review of ‘Escape to the River Sea’ here. Many thanks to Emma for sharing her favourite journeys and to Clare for inviting me to take part in the Blog Tour! Make sure you catch up with the other stops along the way!
Escape to the River Sea Emma Carroll, cover illustration by Katie Hickey
Macmillan ISBN: 978-1529062700
Out on the 9th June 2022