Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Part of the Historical Notebooks series, this evocative guide to Marco Polo's journeys pairs new text with excerpts from The Travels of Marco Polo. Antique map reproductions demonstrate the limited geographical knowledge available at the time, and original drawings emphasize the arduous nature of his travels, which took him across Persia and Afghanistan, through the Gobi Desert, to Xanadu (where he met Kublai Khan-who would employ him as a spy), and across the Arabian Sea. Twist combines flaps, minibooks, and informative sidebars to paint a portrait of the man whose insights inspired readers in his time to see the world as "a bigger and more interesting place." Ages 8-12. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-8-In this sumptuous interactive scrapbook, excerpts from Marco Polo's own account of his travels are paired with beautiful maps, drawings, and illustrations. Explanations of how some of the material can be inaccurate, whether it is artwork that uses European styles for Asian scenes or statements based on the map of the world as it once was, are also included. Flaps lift to reveal stories or pictures, and there are envelopes with letters inside, a "golden passport" that slides out of a pocket, and reproductions of Chinese paper money. The sturdy paper might help to extend the book's shelf life, but some elements need to be handled carefully. One particularly good device is a map that details the stops on Polo's journey. The map slides out of an envelope on the back of the front cover, allowing children to keep it handy as they read through the book, which is divided into sections based on the stages of the journey. This volume is well suited to browsing, and many readers will want to spend time poring over the many details. An appealing, engaging addition.-Heather Talty, Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School, New York City (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
This richly illustrated offering details the life and travels of Marco Polo to the Orient and back. Each two-page section focuses on a specific area he visited, his activities there, and what he found. The many maps and lift-the-flaps encourage readers to do their own exploration of the book; some removable items (e.g., a "golden passport") are included. (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Routine content trumps flashy presentation in this follow-up to similarly packaged but more intellectually rewarding scrapbook-style albums introducing Charles Darwin (2009) and William Shakespeare (2010). This general account of Marco Polo's travelsdeliberately printed in a weak, unevenly inked typefaceopens with the seasoned traveler dictating his memoirs in a Genoese jail. From this, it retraces his itinerary to the court of Kublai Khan, summarizes a few of his commercially minded observations of China and India and describes his missions to what the author calls "present-day Burma" and northern Persia and his eventual return to Venice. Multiple illustrations crowd every spread with a not-always-differentiated mix of Renaissance and newly minted portraits or cityscapes, plus maps from various eras, illegible contemporary documents and showers of gemstones or other filler. Not only does the main text earn a low score for legibility, but many flaps that are meant to be read in a certain sequence are not logically placed and promised "extracts fromThe Travels of Marco Polo" do not materialize beyond stray quoted phrases. Though certainly a step up from Susan L. Roth's manneredMarco Polo: His Notebook(1990), next to Russell Freedman'sAdventures of Marco Polo(2006) this isn't going to leave young readers with more than a superficial impression of Polo's travelogue or historical significance.(Novelty nonfiction. 11-13)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
