Customer Reviews

Where Do You Think You're Going, Christopher Columbus?

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

Where Do You Think You're Going, Christopher Columbus? is a book which gives an overview of the man and his voyages. It is friendly, approachable, and witty.

It gently pokes fun at Columbus and his ego- and ethnocentric view of the world, like when the author pointed out how shocking Columbus found the naked natives to be, and vice versa.

It displays the role his religious beliefs played in his explorations and actions. For example, when his first voyage went well he believed it was a miracle, but when his second voyage went poorly he thought God was punishing him for his prideful behavior. Because of this he took to wearing a scratchy shirt and monk's robe instead of his normal clothes.

It includes fun details that make the scenes real, like informing the readers that Columbus took cats on voyages to control the shipboard rats.

While it doesn't specifically detail any atrocities, it does tell of Columbus taking native slaves, and of the Spaniards left behind being massacred. Overall, it is a balanced and enjoyable tale to share with students of a broad age range to make this part of history come alive.

If you have a chance to hear the recording read by Jean Fritz it is delightful.

Kids get a kick out of this book. Columbus takes himself SO SERIOUSLY. It's a good biography, works in a bit of context, and you get to see the stubborn side of Columbus.

Nicely done. Jean Fritz relates to children of "all ages". A necessary compliment alongside the more encyclopedic versions.

Columbus was a lucky man (blessed, he would say). He had to be. Who else could have so much go so wrong and still become famous for the one big thing he did by mistake: discover America...if he did that. Anyway, he had a lot of adventure (or misadventure), and Jean Fritz tells about it and him--not in the traditionally reverent way, but with a humorous and matter-of-fact approach.

The Creative Teacher: Activities for Language Arts (Grades 4 through 8 and Up)

This is a fun book that should help your youngster develop an interest in American History. It is easy to read an has great illustratiions. You will not be disappointed with this purchase. Look for others by the same author.

It's a children's book, I get that. But this book is so incredibly bias it's absurd. Not to mention the false truths and half truths it tries to pass off as fact.

This book is entertaining. It's informative all right. But the facts in this book end with "Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa Italy and sailed in 1492 for Spain." That's where the facts end and the "Americanized" and "Eurocentric" falsehoods come into play.

Portrayed as a noble hero that beat the odds to "discover" America, this book is an absolutely laughable rendition of what ACTUALLY happened on Columbus' famous voyages. Instead of becoming fast friends with the natives he encountered, as this book would have your children believe, Columbus is responsible for the deaths of some 8 million people (hello genocide!) as well as almost single-handedly starting the European slave trade.

In fact, this portrayal is SO ridiculous that I showed it to my World History high school students to pick apart. We all had a good laugh at the absurdity this book tries to pass off as fact.

Is it harmless because it's a children's book? That's for you to decide. But I for one do not condone the spreading of such lies about a man guilty of acts that rival Adolf Hitler's.

It's hard to imagine something lower or more morally contemptible than books of this kind. Columbus was guilty of the genocide of eight million Native people. Imagine "Where Are You Going Heinrich Himmler?" or "Where Are You Going Adolf Eichmann?" for comparison. His vaunted "discovery" was no such thing. Native people were already there. Polynesians, Inuit, Phoenicians, and Africans had already made the same voyage, and unlike old Chris did not slaughter millions once they got here.
For very young children, I would simply mention that Columbus was a very cruel man and leave it at that. It is simply impossible to tell them the truth at such a young age without giving them nightmares. But for heaven's sake, DONT whitewash or glorify a butcher like Columbus. Once they are in their teens, tell you children the TRUTH with such wonderful books as Loewen's Lies My Teacher Told Me or Takaki's A Different Mirror. Our kids deserve truth, not lies, in order for them to better deal with the legacy of genocide.