________________ CM . . . . Volume XXII Number 15. . . .December 11, 2015

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Explore With Ponce de León. (Travel With the Great Explorers).

Cynthia O’Brien.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2015.
32 pp., pbk., hc., pdf & html, $10.95 (pbk.), $21.56 (RLB).
ISBN 978-0-7787-1435-4 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-1429-3 (RLB), ISBN 978-1-4271-7590-8 (pdf), ISBN 978-1-4271-7580-9 (html).

Subject Headings:
Ponce de León, Juan, 1460?-1521-Juvenile literature.
Explorers-Spain-Biography-Juvenile literature.
Explorers-America-Biography-Juvenile literature.
America-Discovery and exploration-Spanish-Juvenile literature.

Grades 4-6 / Ages 9-11.

Review by Ian Stewart.

** /4

   
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Explore With Sieur de La Salle. (Travel With the Great Explorers).

Cynthia O’Brien.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2015.
32 pp., pbk., hc., pdf & html, $10.95 (pbk.), $21.56 (RLB).
ISBN 978-0-7787-1436-1 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-1430-9 (RLB), ISBN 978-1-4271-7595-3 (pdf), ISBN 978-1-4271-7581-6 (html).

Subject Headings:
La Salle, Robert Cavelier, sieur de, 1643-1687-Juvenile literature.
Explorers-Mississippi River Valley-Biography-Juvenile literature.
Explorers-France-Biography-Juvenile literature.
Mississippi River Valley-Discovery and exploration-French-Juvenile literature.
Canada-History-To 1763 (New France)-Juvenile literature.
Canada-Discovery and exploration-French-Juvenile literature.

Grades 4-6 / Ages Ages 9-11.

Review by Ian Stewart.

** /4

   
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Explore With Marco Polo. (Travel With the Great Explorers).

Tim Cooke.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2015.
32 pp., pbk., hc., pdf & html, $10.95 (pbk.), $21.56 (RLB).
ISBN 978-0-7787-1434-7 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-1428-6 (RLB), ISBN 978-1-4271-7585-4 (pdf), ISBN 978-1-4271-7579-3 (html).

Subject Headings:
Polo, Marco, 1254-1323?-Juvenile literature.
Asia-Description and travel-Juvenile literature.
Voyages and travels-Juvenile literature.

Grades 4-6 / Ages Ages 9-11.

Review by Ian Stewart.

** /4

   
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Explore With Leif Eriksson. (Travel With the Great Explorers).

Natalie Hyde.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2015.
32 pp., pbk., hc., pdf & html, $10.95 (pbk.), $21.56 (RLB.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-1433-0 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-1427-9 (RLB.), ISBN 978-1-4271-7584-7 (pdf), ISBN 978-1-4271-7578-6 (html).

Subject Headings:
Leiv Eriksson, approx. 1020-Juvenile literature.
Explorers-Scandinavia-Biography-Juvenile literature.
Explorers-North America-Biography-Juvenile literature.
Vikings-Juvenile literature.
North America-Discovery and exploration-Norse-Juvenile literature.

Grades 4-6 / Ages Ages 9-11.

Review by Ian Stewart.

** /4

   
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Explore With Ferdinand Magellan. (Travel With the Great Explorers).

Marie Powell.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2015.
32 pp., pbk., hc., pdf & html, $10.95 (pbk.), $21.56 (RLB).
ISBN 978-0-7787-1431-6 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-1425-5 (RLB), ISBN 978-1-4271-7582-3 (pdf), ISBN 978-1-4271-7576-2 (html).

Subject Headings:
Magalhães, Fernão de, -1521-Juvenile literature.
Explorers-Portugal-Biography-Juvenile literature.
Voyages around the world-Juvenile literature.

Grades 4-6 / Ages 9-11.

Review by Ian Stewart.

** /4

   
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Explore With Jacques Cartier. (Travel With the Great Explorers).

Marie Powell.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2015.
32 pp., pbk., hc., pdf & html, $10.95 (pbk.), $21.56 (RLB.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-1432-3 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-1426-2 (RLB.), ISBN 978-1-4271-7583-0(pdf), ISBN 978-1-4271-7577-9 (html).

Subject Headings:
Cartier, Jacques, 1491-1557-Juvenile literature.
Explorers-France-Biography-Juvenile literature.
Explorers-Canada-Biography-Juvenile literature.
Canada-Discovery and exploration-French-Juvenile literature.
Saint Lawrence River-Discovery and exploration-Juvenile literature.
Canada-History-To 1663 (New France)-Juvenile literature.

Grades 4-6 / Ages Ages 9-11.

Review by Ian Stewart.

** /4

excerpt:

In the late 1400s, the Spanish rulers-King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella-wanted to spread the Catholic faith and claim land for Spain. Spanish explorers sailed across the ocean in the name of the crown. In 1493, Christopher Columbus embarked on his second voyage to the new world for Spain. It is possible that the young Ponce de Leon accompanied him. However, Columbus’s trip was a failure, so Ponce de Leon returned to the Caribbean to lead his own expeditions. (From Explore with Ponce De Leon: Quest For Adventure.)

Some people did not believe that the Vikings could have sailed from Greenland to Newfoundland using only their small ships. In 1998, a group built an exact replica of a Viking knarr. They named it the Snorri for the first European child born in North America. Using only the sun and the stars for navigation, one sail, and two oars, they made the trip in just two months, proving it was possible for Leif and his successors to have reached North America. (From
Explore with Leif Eriksson: Let’s Do It Again.)

In a state called Tangut, in northwest China, Marco met many Buddhists. He noticed that there were statues of Buddha along the road. The Polos also visited monasteries where up to 2,000 monks lived together. They wore robes of black and blue, and ate only bran and water. They spent most of their time praying, and slept on thin, uncomfortable mats. Polo said, “They lead a harder life than any man in the world.” (From
Explore with Marco Polo: Followers of the Buddha).

 

The “Travel With the Great Explorers” series is crammed with information, pictures and graphics meant to grab students and excite them in their studies of these great explorers. The series uses a “magazine style of reporting” or “ tabloid-news style” that introduces students to not only the lives and explorations of the explorers but also how they travelled, the oceans, deserts and mountainous landscapes they traversed, the flora and fauna, the cultural diversity of the peoples they met and how those many peoples lived their lives. The volumes all contain timelines of the explorer’s life and travels, Web-based and print resources, activities for students, a glossary of key words and an index.

     However, as good as the series is, some teachers may have an issue with the lack of a straightforward, cohesive historical narrative. The “story” of the individual explorers, their exploits and the historical context, is broken up by the explosion of text boxes, asides, factoids and illustrations. Students will not only be distracted by the massive amounts of information but will be confused on how to read the page—across, up and down, or randomly. As well, as admirable as it is, the attempt to bring in so much information without adequate cross-referencing or editing sometimes creates differing interpretations of the same event or the explorer’s character without proper explanation.

Recommended.

Ian Stewart teaches at Cecil Rhodes School in Winnipeg, MB.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

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Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364
Hosted by the University of Manitoba.
 

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