Marco Polo: A Journey Through China (Expedition) [Paperback]

Fiona MacDonald (Author), David Salariya (Creator), Mark Bergin (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up | Series: Expedition

Describes Marco Polo's travels through Asia, and discusses the people and cultures he encountered.

--This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 3-7-Two overviews that focus on the men's expeditions and the times during which they took place rather than on details of the individuals' lives. Through this approach, readers become familiar with the significance of their endeavors in terms of world expansion, the cultures with which they dealt, and the hardships endured. The appealing format lends itself to easy use by student researchers, particularly reluctant readers. Each two-page spread is devoted to a portion of the trip with a large heading providing the topic covered. Detailed, full-color pen-and-watercolor illustrations and small text bits provide lifestyle and cultural details about the areas traveled. An interesting "What Happened Next" section fills in the aftermath of each man's journey. One inconsistency in Magellan is that his date of death is marked as 1522 in the introduction and yet the author has his crew going on without him in 1521. Jim Hargrove's Ferdinand Magellan (Children's, 1990; o.p.) and Rebecca Stefoff's Marco Polo and the Medieval Explorers (Chelsea, 1992) may be consulted where more detail is needed. Otherwise these are acceptable editions, especially for less-proficient readers.-Cheryl Cufari, Glencliff Elementary School, Niskayuna,

Copyright 1998 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

About the Author

Fiona MacDonald studied history at Cambridge University and at the University of East Anglia. She has taught in schools, adult education and university, and is the author of numerous books for children on historical topics.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Children's Press(CT) (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0531153401
• ISBN-13: 978-0531153406
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,126,128 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #79 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Action & Adventure

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Customer Reviews

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3.0 out of 5 stars Dissapointing Effort, February 1, 2011

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This review is from: Marco Polo: A Journey Through China (Expedition) (Paperback)

Fiona MacDonald and Mark Bergen have written and illustrated countless children's historical books. They can usually be counted upon to deliver a great children's book. Yet, "Marco Polo: A Journey Through China" does not deliver to their usual high standards. Although Fiona MacDonald is a fine writer, her narrative is disrupted by the use of distracting panels. These panels running along the top and bottom of the page are fussy and take away from the flow of her story. The illustrations by Mark Bergen are also dissapointing. They look slap dash in composition and lack the attention to detail that one usually expects in his work. I think that John Riddle and Robert Ingpen do a much better job of retelling Marco Polo' story in "Great Names-Marco Polo".