Poptropica Mystery of the Map by Jack Chabert

They're just going on a hot air balloon ride, that should be safe enough.  They are visiting with their parents and seeing the sites and it's great.  Until their pilot takes them off course...

Amulet Books sent me a copy of this book to read for review (thank you).  It has been published, so you can get a copy now.

This is a graphic novel with chapters that is written for younger readers.  I found it amusing and fun to read.  Kory Merritt did the illustrations and they are lovely.  Lots of colors,  big-eyed characters and odd looking animals populate the pages.

When they start asking questions, the pilot throws them out of the air balloon.  Luckily, they are over an island and have some place to land.  Unluckily, they have no idea where they are.  For some reason, the island they are on seems to have extinct animals on it and they are still alive.  How many years has it been since someone saw a dodo?  Or a sabre tooth tiger?

If the animals weren't bad enough, they find Vikings, too.  And they're not friendly.  This turns into quite an adventure for the three passengers on the balloon.  It's a good thing there was a girl in the batch, she seems to be invaluable in escaping and making plans.  The ending is very ironic and sets up the scenario for the next book.  I'd read another; this was great!