Lynn's Reviews > The Quest for Z: The True Story of Explorer Percy Fawcett and a Lost City in the Amazon

I thought at first students might have a hard time realizing Fawcett was a real person, but the details and facts quickly draw in the reader.
Some quirky illustrations show landscape, animals, newspaper headings, and there are sidebars about mosquitoes, the Royal Geographic Society, and the Amazon rain forest. The text is broken up and interspersed around the illustrations, which helps to make it accessible and inviting to read.
Backmatter includes photo of Fawcett, short descriptions of later efforts to find Fawcett, glossary, and author's note (which includes a photo of a crashed plane that initiated his interest in explorers of the Amazon).
I would invite students to discuss what "quest" means as compared to 'search' or 'investigate'. This book could also be used in explorer units to compare/contrast explorers, their work, time period, etc.
Be sure to show students the cover hiding under the dust jacket!