"Tells the story of humanity's explorations, taking the reader into the lives of some of the most intrepid people ever known. Focusing on 50 of the world's greatest explorers, with shorter entries on 60 of their helpers and companions, the book is filled with first-person accounts in the explorers' own words, rare maps, specially commissioned photographs, and artworks [to] re-create history's greatest expeditions"--Publisher marketing.

"Ava?s parents are explorers, and the family is traveling around the world to find the rare ghost orchid. On their way, Ava marvels at the wonders around her: a moose in the woods, the starry desert sky, a blue whale swimming under their boat. But her parents? focus is on getting to the ghost orchid before it?s short-lived bloom fades, so they don?t notice the wonders of the journey." --publisher's website.