Journey Outside - (Newbery Library, Puffin) by Mary Q Steele (Paperback)

About the Book

The Raft People live in darkness and travel a circular journey on an underground river. One boy finds his way outside and tries to learn as much as possible so he can ultimately lead his people to the Better Place.

Book Synopsis

A Newbery Honor book

This fast-paced story is more than an adventure--it is a search for answers in a bewildering world that is as terrifying as it is beautiful.

Grandfather said they were headed for the Better Place, but Dilar suspected they were headed nowhere, simply following the dark underground river blindly. And so one night he leaped onto a shelf of rock and watched the flotilla of the Raft People disappear. And from there he found his way Outside, into a world so beautiful and strange he could only suppose he had died--a world of day, and sun, of trees and sky.

"A highly successful work that can be read as an adventure story, a fantasy, or as allegory"--School Library Journal

From the Back Cover

Grandfather said they were headed for the Better Place, but Dilar suspected they were headed nowhere, simply following the dark underground river blindly. And so one night he leaped onto a shelf of rock and watched the flotilla of the Raft People disappear. And from there he found his way Outside, into a world so beautiful and strange he could only suppose he had died-a world of day, and sun, of trees and sky.

Review Quotes

A Newbery Honor book

About the Author

Mary Q. Steele (May 8, 1922-July 6, 1992) was a noted American author and naturalist. She wrote over twenty books, sometimes under the names Wilson Gage and J. N. Darby. One of her books, Journey Outside, was a Newbery Honor Book.