Customer Reviews

Traveling Man: The Journey of Ibn Battuta 1325-1354

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"In the days when the earth was flat and Jerusalem was the center of the world, there was a boy named Ibn Battuta." So begins Traveling Man, the eloquent story of a fourteenth century, Moroccan man's 75,000 mile, worldwide expedition. Heading first to Egypt, then on to Jerusalem, and Arabia to Mecca. He then traveled across the steppes of Asia to India, the Maldives, and on to China, thought at the time to be the end of the world, before finally, after 29 years, returning home again. Once home, Ibn Battuta told a court scribe about his journey and many adventures, and this written record is the basis for James Rumford's remarkable and mesmerizing story. His lyrical and engaging text is full of imagery, mystery, and magic, and complemented with elegant, creative, and vivid, artwork, done in hues of gold, red and blues. Together word and art transports the reader to a long ago place and time, on an amazing and fantastic journey. A glossary, afterword, and detailed map at the end, provides additional information to further enlighten and enhance the experience. Perfect for youngsters 8-12, Traveling Man is an evocative masterpiece that shouldn't be missed. As Ibn Battuta wrote..."Traveling - it offers you a hundred roads to adventure, and gives your heart wings!"

What you, as the reader of this and all Jim's books, don't know is that Mr. Rumford has lived, studied and worked in many of the places where his stories take place. He is a linguist, an historian, and an artist. So while this tale and his other stories may seem fictional, the element of realism is very strong. He not only reads and speaks these languages, he has studied how they are written--and seeing the embelishments in this story, you wonder. These symbols are real and accurate, produced by a true Renaissance man.

This is an excellent book for kids and adults alike! It's one of my son's favorite - he is enthralled by Ibn Battuta's adventures and likes to look at the beautiful illustrations. The Arabic script also makes this book interesting; it's not often that one comes across this sort of writing here. For me, it is a simple introductory of a man that I have heard of, but had not known much else. I wish this man is as famous as Marco Polo!

This picture book is a beautifully illustrated picture book of one man's journey to Mecca. As a Christian, I appreciated this book for an explanation of the Muslims'a pilgrimage without being inundated with a lot of emphasis on the religion. It was more of a tale of the journey itself, filled with cultural imagery. The illustrations are lovely and creatively show the handwriting, animals, geography, architecture, and other elements of that time period and region.

I adore James Rumford's book "Beowolf," because not only are the illustrations perfect, but the retelling is first rate, and the words he uses all have roots in the AngloSaxon languages. Impressive.

I was prepared to love this book - the story of Ibn Battuta's travels made an impression on me (I read Ross E. Dunn's "The Adventures of Ibn Battuta" a few years ago - it's for grown ups.) and I have loved children's picture books about Marco Polo (Demi) and Mansa Musa (Kephra Burns) - other medieval wanderers.

The illustrations on the end papers are interesting and whet your appetite, but the book itself was not satisfying. Some great illustrations, but too many pages are nothing more than the road symbolically traveling across a page with a few quotes from travelers tacked on, or maybe some script writing in Persian or Arabic or Chinese. That's neat, and it shows the research and detail that went into the book (see the Notes section)... but it means the pages are often fairly blank.

What illustrations there are, are heavenly.

In twenty nine years of travelling, the Moroccan scholar Ibn Battuta journeyed nearly seventy five thousand miles. His wanderings took him as far afield as India, China, Central Asia and the coasts of East and West Africa. During his travels, Ibn Battuta had many adventures and saw nearly the entire Islamic world. James Rumford's "Travelling Man" carefully traces Ibn Battuta's many trips. Rumford is a talented writer and uses a light touch to tell Ibn Battuta's story. My only criticism is that Rumford's touch is almost too light. It is a fascinating story and I wish Rumford had included much more detail.

This stunning work is so well executed that it introduces young readers to geography, intellectual curiosity, and Islam in one short text. The integration of art, mapping, and narration feeds the hungry mind with something other than a Eurocentric view of the world. Well done!

This is a wonderful book for a child, or for an adult with an eye for the lovely art that graces it. For the adult, it will lead inevitably to a more adult account of Ibn Battuta's travels -- and a hint at all the history that is out there that we don't get in our high school text books!

This is a beautiful book, lovely illustrations and maps. A nice compliment to the actual translation of the Travellers account.

Wonderful children's picture storybook account of the 14th century Muslim geographer/ethnographer, Ibn Battuta. The author-illustrator, himself a world traveler, has added the element of ancient Arab maps - maps as colorful and as evocative as a Persian miniature, as intricate and mysterious as a tiled Moroccan wall. And into this arabesque of pictures and maps is woven the story (and magnificent Arab calligraphy) not just of a traveler in a world of long gone, but of a many on his journey through life. Finally the traveler of his age is brought to life for our young listeners and readers. . . as well as adults!

Teachers/Librarians - Kindergarten to Adult! This is a special book, not only for its content, and its message, but also for its exquisite beauty. This reviewer wants to know the author and it seems a trip to Hawaii is needed, as she learned from teachers at Honalulu's Pinahou School, who have the privilege of having James Rumford as a "neighbor".

And students ought to find it revealing that Arabs today speak of anyone who travels a great deal as "Ibn Battuta" or "Bint Battuta" (the female counterpart). . . so well read and proud are they of their own history!