Museum Trip

By Barbara Lehman

Museums: filled with mysterious, magical art and curiosities? Or secrets? And what might happen if a boy suddenly became part of one of the mind-bending exhibits? Join the fun in Museum Trip, by Barbara Lehman, the author-illustrator of the Caldecott Honor–winning The Red Book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: May 22, 2006
• ISBN: 9780547770864

Barbara Lehman

Barbara Lehman has illustrated many books for children, including The Red Book, which was awarded the Caldecott Honor in 2005. Born in Chicago, Barbara attended Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, where she earned a BFA in communication design. A full-time illustrator, Barbara says, “Books and art have always held the strongest attraction for me. I have always felt drawn to ‘commercial art’ because of its ability to reach many people. I like the idea of being part of the media in a meaningful and thoughtful way, especially with children as the audience.” She lives in the Hudson Valley in upstate New York. Visit her website at barbaralehmanbooks.com.

Book preview

Reviews for Museum Trip

[nsardo1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This wordless picture book illustrates the adventure of a young boy who goes on a school field trip and wanders off on his own to explore different parts of the museum. Children are able to create their own story of this young boy because of the lack of words in this wordless picture book. This book is great for having students practice making inferences and building imagination. It also does a good job at engaging students because of the way the boy sneaks off from the rest of the class and explores the entire museum without supervision as well as all of the neat and interesting things he discovers while independently exploring.

[supendleton · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I didn't like this book as much as The Red Book. It is about a boy who loses his group during a trip to museum. He finds a room with mazes and imagines himself traveling through the mazes- it is a book that can spark discussion with children but not as much as The Red Book.

[bmmoore-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

After "reading" Museum Trip, I was left wondering if I had ever come across a book like this. This book contained no words but instead, used illustrations to dictate the story. Growing up, I don't think I saw a book represented that way. But I really like the idea! The illustrations help guide the reader through the boy's trip to the Museum and his adventure of being lost. Even though there are no words, the reader can easily identify what is going on. I hope to find more books like this someday.

[dukefan86 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What a nice wordless story! Love how it shows a little boy's imagination during a class trip to the museum. The medal was a nice touch. Enjoyed the illustrations as well. This book made me smile at the end.

[agrudzien_5 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A young boy goes to the museum with his class but as he ties his shoe, he gets separated. When he tries to find them, he finds small maze-like prints instead. The wordless adventures that unfold will have readers wanting to look closer at the artwork and do some imagining themselves. This book would be great to show to a class before a field trip to a museum. Some students who feel museums are "stuffy" places would love the adventure the boy has and it might make what they see on their trip feel more alive!

[karenamorg · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Two exceptional wordless books that stimulate the reader in different ways are Steve Jenkins’ 1995 Looking Down and Barbara Lehman’s Museum Trip. The plot of Jenkins’ book is a journey—from beginning in outer space, with the moon in the foreground and planet Earth in the distance. With each turn of the page we zoom in closer to the destination---a boy looking at a ladybug through a magnifying glass in his East Coast suburban front yard. Looking Down evokes the 1968 Charles and Ray Eames film Powers of 10, which also depicted a journey (in film stills) from outer space to a person on the grass into his blood cell. Jenkins’ book, illustrated entirely in cut paper designs that resemble aerial photography, is newly accessible to a generation of students familiar with Google Earth technology. Wide appeal; includes K-8 and above. No special awards documented.Unlike Looking Down, Barbara Lehman’s Museum Trip has a narrative that is open to some interpretation. Essentially, a schoolboy gets separated from his class with visiting an art museum. He becomes fascinated with a collection of mazes in a display case, imagines himself navigating through them, then returns to the present and rejoins his schoolmates as they leave the museum. Lehman illustrates in her customary clean, moderately detailed cartoon style. The viewer can supply the boy’s motivation, thoughts, and the meaning of what happens in the end—dream or fantasy. K-6 (although K and 1st graders would need to know what a maze depiction is and have familiarity with visiting an art museum). No special awards documented.Jenkins, S. (1995). Looking down. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.Lehman, B. (2006). Museum trip. Boston, Mass: Houghton Mifflin.

[elainevbernal · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Barbara Lehman, Museum Trip, (2006). MA: Houghton Mifflin CompanyMuseum Trip features a boy going with his class for a field trip to the Museum - what seems to be an uneventful museum tour turns into a big adventure when the boy is left behind by class. As he looks for his teacher and classmates his personal tour of the museum takes an exciting turn when he finds an exhibit of four labyrinths and all of the sudden becomes miniaturized, and becomes able to go through all four mazes. Upon completion, the boy is rewarded with a medal, and we see at the end when the boy returns to real life with his class, that the museum attendant is wearing the same medal. This picture book reads just like a comic book and captures the imagination as the reader is left to figure out if the boy's adventure in the labyrinths were magically real or simply imagined. The cartoon illustrations are simple, neat, with a good balance of neutral and bright colors, and the dimensions of each page give the reader a strong sense of connection with the boy and his experience. This wordless picture book can give a great opportunity for a read aloud for children 6-10 years old.

[jpeshke_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

On a school trip a boy gets lost in the pieces at the museum. This is a wordless book that allows for the reader to guide the thoughts of the main character. I think this book is a great way to expose students to wordless stories and to talk about how powerful they can be.

[mmuncy_4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

On a trip to the museum, one boy gets seperated from his class. While searching for them the boy finds an exhibit on mazes. He somehow transports into the maps of the mazes. After he successfully completes them all he receives a medal and returns to the real world. On the last page the boy looks at him medal with a male in the background, presumably to museum director, also looks at his.This was not one of my favorites. I actually found it a bit boring. Once the boy was in the mazes the illustrations all basically looked the same. I would bring some maze worksheets an have a race to see who could finish first.

[christinerobinson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Although not as intriguing as The Red Book, this wordless picture book by Lehman is still quite interesting. There is no cycle of books within books, but the little boy does go on a great adventure. He travels through the museum and has to work his way through a series of mazes he finds in a secret room to find his way back to his class. Again the illustrations are simple yet detailed and the theme of being lost in a maze will register with any child who has ever been lost in a mall or shop.

[raizel_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wordless book about a boy who gets separated from his group during a trip to an art museum.

[cvyork · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This is not up to par with Red Book or Rainstorm. The end does not make much sense and the illustrations are not that exciting. I did not understand this book.