From School Library Journal
Gr 4-6-Three books with uninspired writing, infrequent but major errors, and limited information. The layouts feature double-page illustrations with blocks of text superimposed on them. There is almost no personal history provided for Amundsen, Columbus, or Cook; the focus is solely on their deeds, and coverage is no more interesting than a good encyclopedia article and certainly not as complete. The artwork ranges from poor (in Amundsen) to good (in Cook and Columbus). Most pages include a ``Did you know?'' inset that describes related topics (e.g., aurora borealis, seal hunting, slavery). Except in Columbus, maps are inadequate-in number as well as in detail-to allow youngsters to put the geography in perspective. Two errors are jarring-Columbus gives the distance from Portugal to Japan as ``12,4000'' miles, and Cook describes an illustration of a typical ship as being from ``Columbus's time'' rather than Cook's.-Rosie Peasley, Empire Union School District, Modesto, CA
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