The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs
America's Test Kitchen Kids (COR), America's Test Kitchen
Recommended for fans of JUVENILE NONFICTION
Lost City
by Ted Lewin
A richly painted picture book that turns Hiram Bingham's 1911 trek to Machu Picchu into a vivid adventure, crediting the local Quechua boy who led him the final steps.
What It's About
Ted Lewin's Lost City tells the story of the 1911 expedition in which American explorer Hiram Bingham pushed through Peruvian jungle and mountain terrain looking for the last refuge of the Incas, and was brought instead to the overgrown ruins of Machu Picchu. The narrative stays close to the physical journey: river crossings, steep climbs, dense vegetation, and the growing sense that something remarkable is hidden above the clouds. A young Quechua boy guides Bingham on the last stretch, giving young readers a peer-aged figure to follow.
Lewin, a Caldecott Honor illustrator, is known for realistic watercolors, and they carry much of the book's power. His paintings of mist, stone terraces, and Andean landscapes give children a strong sense of place and scale, and they work well for a group read-aloud where the pictures can be studied and discussed. The text is short enough for a single sitting but has enough substance to start conversations about geography, the Inca, and how history gets recorded.
Reading it feels like a compact adventure story rooted in a real event. It suits early elementary listeners and independent readers around ages 5 to 9, and it pairs naturally with classroom units on South America, ancient civilizations, or explorers. Adults will likely want to add context about whose perspective the story centers, since the book focuses on the outsider's experience of arrival.
Read this if you…
- want a visually striking read-aloud about a real historical expedition
- are teaching young children about Peru, the Inca, or explorers
- have a child who loves adventure, mountains, and lost places
Skip it if you…
- want an in-depth or critical history of Bingham and Machu Picchu
- prefer children's history told primarily from Indigenous perspectives
Key Ideas
- 1
A real expedition told as adventure
The book presents Bingham's journey as a suspenseful trek rather than a dry history lesson. Children follow the hardships of the route and the anticipation of what lies ahead, which makes a 1911 event feel immediate. It is a gentle introduction to the idea that true stories can be as exciting as invented ones, and it gives young readers a hook into archaeology and exploration.
- 2
Illustrations that teach the landscape
Lewin's detailed watercolors do much of the explaining. The Andes, cloud forest, and stone architecture of Machu Picchu are rendered with enough realism that children absorb geography and setting simply by looking. For many readers, these images will be their first clear picture of the site, and they reward slow attention during a read-aloud or a second look alone.
- 3
The local guide's essential role
By including the Quechua boy who leads Bingham to the ruins, the book hints that local people knew these places long before outsiders arrived. It is a useful opening for discussing how the word discovery can be misleading, and for recognizing Indigenous knowledge in stories usually told from the explorer's point of view.
- 4
Wonder at an ancient civilization
The payoff of the journey is the sense of awe at what the Inca built in such a difficult place. The book encourages curiosity about the people who created Machu Picchu, nudging readers toward questions about how and why it was built, and serving as a starting point for further reading about Inca history.
Limitations
As a short picture book, Lost City simplifies a complicated history. It largely frames events through Bingham's eyes, and the language of discovery can obscure that local farmers and Quechua communities already knew the site. It does not explore later controversies, such as the removal of artifacts to Yale and the long dispute that ended with their return to Peru. Older children will outgrow it quickly and need fuller sources on Inca civilization. Parents and teachers may want to supplement it with context to give a more balanced picture.
Questions Readers Ask
- What age is Lost City by Ted Lewin best for?
- It works best for roughly ages 5 to 9. Younger children enjoy it as a read-aloud for the paintings and sense of adventure, while early independent readers can handle the text themselves. Older elementary students may find it useful as a quick visual introduction before moving on to longer nonfiction about the Inca.
- Is the book historically accurate?
- It is based on Hiram Bingham's real 1911 expedition and is broadly faithful to the journey, but it is a simplified picture-book telling. It leaves out debates about who really first reached the site and later disputes over artifacts. Treat it as an engaging entry point rather than a complete account.
- Is it good for classroom use?
- Yes, it fits well into units on South America, ancient civilizations, explorers, or geography. The illustrations support discussion, and the Quechua guide offers a natural prompt for talking about Indigenous knowledge and what the word discovery really means.
- Published
- 2012
- ISBN
- 9780142425800
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Category
- Children's Books
Book details and cover from Google Books.
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