Museum Trip

Wordless, imaginative adventure dives into mazes.

Illustrator: Barbara Lehman Pages: 32 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Children's Books Published Date: 05/22/2006 Genre: Fiction - Picture Book HC Price: $15 Publisher's Recommended Reading Level: 5-8 Read Aloud: 5 Read Alone: 5

Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that there's no questionable content in this wordless picture book, except the idea that a young boy gets separated from his class on a field trip.

Parents might want to review what kids should do if they get lost. How can kids get help finding their parent or caregiver? Older kids might want to learn more about mazes by visiting their local library and looking up nonfiction books about labyrinths. Or they might like to read about the minotaur, whose statue guards the display of mazes.

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Dawn Friedman

Wordless picture books invite the audience to become a part of the story. Appropriate for any age, children are able to bring their own sensibilities to color the obvious intentions of the storyteller. And every time you revisit the book kids can take the story further, helping them gain valuable critical skills that will enhance their reading experience.

MUSEUM TRIP is, on the surface, a straightforward story of a boy who gets lost (literally) in an exhibit of mazes at the museum. But parents can encourage a more complex "reading" from their kids by looking more closely at the bold, clean illustrations.

Kids may want to hear more about the boy getting separated from his school group. Would this be scary? Was it a good idea for the boy to go looking for them? Everyone will enjoy solving the series of mazes, which are simple enough that even younger kids will be able to trace through to the end.

The pictures are simple and inviting; dark outlines give the book the look of a coloring book filled in. The boy's red jacket makes his figure pop even on the drabber maze pages. The careful illustration of actual works of art invite families to identify the pieces. Kids might enjoy learning the names of the paintings and sculptures.

Plot Summary:

This book without words tells the story of a boy who is separated from his class during a field trip to a museum and becomes part of a mystical exhibit of mazes.