THE BOOKS
Discover Jess Butterworth's books...
Do you like exploring, animals and adventure? Then join The Adventure Club! A brand new illustrated series for younger readers about animals and adventure from much-loved author Jess Butterworth – writer of classic adventure stories in vibrantly described settings.
BOOKS FOR 7+
​
THE ORPHAN ORANGUTAN
It’s time for the fourth Adventure Club trip, and this time Tilly and the Adventure Club are off to Sumatra.
When the team find an orphan orangutan alone in the wild after a fire, they rescue it and the baby orangutan takes a special liking to Tilly. But can the Adventure Club train to the baby to live in the wild without her mum? And if they do, how will Tilly ever be able to leave her behind?
Join the Adventure Club to find out!
Packed full of illustrations and set as Tilly’s own diary, this new series is perfect for young readers who are beginning to read on their own.
POLAR BEAR PATROL
It’s time for the third Adventure Club trip, and this time Tilly and the Adventure Club are off to the Arctic circle in search of polar bears! There, they journey across the ice on sleighs pulled by huskies, camp in tents, and watch the northern lights, braving sub-zero temperatures.
But on a boat trip, disaster strikes! The team find a narwhal caught in a fishing net. It’s a race against time to free the narwhal. Will they succeed? And will the Adventure Club team spot a single polar bear before they have to leave?
Join the Adventure Club with Tilly to find out!
Packed full of illustrations and set as Tilly’s own diary, this new series is perfect for young readers who are beginning to read on their own.
TIGER IN TROUBLE
It’s time for another Adventure Club trip! When Tilly learns that the monsoon rains in India are late and the tigers in a local sanctuary have disappeared searching for water, Tilly is worried. The sanctuary is surrounded by busy roads and cities. It’s not safe for tigers. She decides that this is a job for The Adventure Club.
She gathers the team – Julia, Steve, Leo and Anita – and they travel to India in search of the tigers.
At the sanctuary Tilly encounters elephants, antelopes and crocodiles … but where are the tigers?
Join the Adventure Club with Tilly to find out!
Packed full of illustrations and set as Tilly’s own diary, this new series is perfect for young readers who are beginning to read on their own.
RED PANDA RESCUE
The first book in an exciting new series aimed at younger readers, perfect for children who love and care about animals and the environment.
Tilly has no plans for the summer holidays and is dreading months of boredom -- that is until she becomes part of The Adventure Club and wins a place to go track and monitor endangered red pandas in Nepal!
In the Himalayas, she meets other members of the club, rides on yaks, plants a bamboo forest and even spots the secretive red panda.
But then the red panda Tilly and her team has been monitoring disappears. Will Tilly be able to help find it, or will her first ever adventure end in disaster?
BOOKS FOR 9+
​
JESS'S STANDALONE ADVENTURE SERIES
Standalone adventure novels set in the wild places that exist on our planet.
LOST ON GIBBON ISLAND
The Last Bear meets The Life of Pi in this adventure-filled survival story set on a lush Cambodian island! Meet 12-year-old Lark, who finds herself ship-wrecked with no one but a baby gibbon for company. Can she survive storms, lack of food and jelly-fish infested waters and find her way home?
‘If you’re reading this, hopefully you’ve come to rescue me. My name is Lark Taylor, and I’ve been shipwrecked on an island. The last mainland I was on was Cambodia, miles and miles away from home…’
When Lark’s mum takes her family with her on a research trip to Cambodia, Lark never expects that she’ll end up stranded on a deserted island! But that’s exactly what happens when her boat is shipwrecked.
With her only companion a baby gibbon, Lark faces many dangers – brutal storms, scorching sunshine and jellyfish-infested waters. And with dwindling food and water, she must make a plan to find her way off the island before it’s too late…
Formatted as Lark’s diary with lined journal pages, gorgeous design details and a special map of Gibbon Island by Rob Biddulph, this is a gorgeous survival story that will have you on the edge of your seat.
INTO THE VOLCANO
Vivi and Seb live halfway across the world from each other, living completely separate lives, until a terrible event unexpectedly makes their paths collide.
Seb's best friend Clay was injured in a shooting, and Seb believes there's a rainbow pool in the heart of Yellowstone National Park that will help heal him heal.
Meanwhile, Vivi is feeling lost, wishing she could find a way to honour her grandmother, who didn't survive the same shooting.
When they meet at the memorial and Seb tells Vivi what he wants to do, Vivi is convinced that her grandmother would have wanted her to go with Seb to help his friend.
But the park is filled with dangerous creatures, and when Seb is injured in one of the volcanic springs, it becomes a race for survival as they try and make their wish and find their way out of the wilderness.
Told through multiple viewpoints and set between the US and the UK, this is another heartfelt middle grade adventure from award-winning author Jess Butterworth
WHERE THE WILDERNESS LIVES
An epic race for survival that follows four children and their dog through the treacherous waterways, dense forests and deep, dark wilderness.
​
Cara and her siblings live on a canal boat in Wales. One day, as they are fishing with magnets in a drained canal lock, trying to clean it up, they pull out a mysterious locked safe.
​
That night, a group of criminals come after the safe. The children flee, travelling with the boat as far as the canal goes before continuing into the forest on foot.
Will Cara and her siblings be able to survive in the mountains with no parents, pursuers hot on their tail, and nothing but their wits, their bravery and one very large dog to help?
SWIMMING AGAINST THE STORM
An adventure story set in the swamplands of Louisiana about sisters, rising sea-levels and saving the environment, perfect for fans of Katherine Rundell and Lauren St John.
Our land is sinking. It’s disappearing into the water. And no one knows how to save it.
Twelve-year-old Eliza and her sister Avery have lived their entire lives in a small fishing village on the coast of Louisiana, growing up alongside turtles, pelicans and porpoises. But now, with sea levels rising, their home is at risk of being swept away.
Determined to save the land, Eliza and her younger sister Avery secretly go searching in the swamp for the dangerous, wolf-like loup-garou. If they can prove this legendary creature exists, they’re sure that the government will have to protect its habitat – and their community.
But there’s one problem: the loup-garou has never been seen before. And with a tropical storm approaching and the sisters deep, deep in the swampland, soon it’s not just their home at risk, but their lives as well…
WHEN THE MOUNTAINS ROARED
A vivid, warm and atmospheric adventure set in the mountains of India, about a girl who is determined to protect the wild leopards of the mountain from poachers, perfect for fans of Katherine Rundell.
I thought we’d live here forever … but then, I thought Mum would be here forever too.
When Ruby’s dad uproots her from Australia to set up a hotel in the mountains of India, Ruby is devastated. Not only are they living in a run-down building in the middle of the wilderness surrounded by scorpions, bears and leopards, but Ruby is sure that India will never truly feel like home – not without her mum there.
Ever since her mum died, Ruby has been afraid. Of cars. Of the dark. Of going to sleep and never waking up.
But then the last remaining leopards of the mountain are threatened and everything changes. Ruby vows to do all she can to protect them – if she can only overcome her fears…
RUNNING ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD
Join 12-year-old Tash and her best friend Sam in a story of adventure, survival and hope, set in the vivid Himalayan landscape of Tibet and India. Filled with friendship, love and courage, this young girl’s thrilling journey to save her parents is an ideal read for children aged 9-12.
There are two words that are banned in Tibet. Two words that can get you locked in prison without a second thought. I watch the soldiers tramping away and call the words after them. ‘Dalai Lama.’
Tash has to follow many rules to survive in Tibet, a country occupied by Chinese soldiers. But when a man sets himself on fire in protest and soldiers seize Tash’s parents, she and her best friend Sam must break the rules. They are determined to escape Tibet – and seek the help of the Dalai Lama himself in India.
And so, with a backpack of Tash’s father’s mysterious papers and two trusty yaks by their side, their extraordinary journey across the mountains begins.
