Reviews for A Picture Book of Christopher Columbus

The average rating for A Picture Book of Christopher Columbus based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-10-12 00:00:00 Lavonne Curtis Part of David A. Adler's Picture Book Biographies series, telling the stories of famous people throughout history for younger children, this title explores the life and achievements of Christopher Columbus, the Italian explorer who, on October 12, 1492, made land on the island of San Salvador, ushering in a new era of contact between Europe and the Americas. The narrative here is quite simple, and covers the basic outline of Columbus' life, from his birth in Genoa in 1451 to his life as a sailor and his efforts to interest the monarchs of Europe in funding his westward voyages. His historic voyage in 1492, in which he 'discovered' (or rediscovered, if one prefers) the Americas, as well as his subsequent voyages, are covered. A brief timeline is included at the rear... Today, as I write this review of A Picture Book of Christopher Columbus, it is Columbus Day, marking the 528th year since modern contact was made between the peoples of Europe and those of the Americas. It is a holiday that has become controversial of late, dividing opinion between those who feel we should not celebrate the day, given the disastrous consequences that first contact had for the native peoples of this hemisphere, and those who believe that, however flawed the man, he did achieve something unprecedented in human history, and laid the groundwork for the modern world we know today. Some cities have replaced Columbus Day with an 'Indigenous Peoples' Day,' while other communities continue to honor the great explorer. Complicating the matter is the fact that Columbus Day has become intertwined with Italian-American identity in many quarters, and is one of the few moments in the national calendar when this community is honored and remembered. For my part, I have little sympathy with the cultural and historical vandalism currently consuming the (so-called) left, but also have no interest in whitewashing history. I tend to believe that historical achievements should be remembered and honored, even when those who achieved them were far from perfect, recalling that old phrase that "we see further than our ancestors because we stand on their shoulders." With that in mind, and given my all-consuming interest in children's literature, I decided to read and review a number of different picture-book biographies of Christopher Columbus, as a means of marking the day. The titles I chose include David A. Adler's A Picture Book of Christopher Columbus (1991), Peter Sís' Follow the Dream: The Story of Christopher Columbus (1991) and Demi's Columbus (2012). I began with this title from Adler because I think it is the youngest of the three, in terms of intended audience. I am familiar with Adler largely through his Cam Jansen Mysteries series for beginning chapter-book readers, and was curious to see what he would do with the story of Columbus. It is worth noting that this is also the first of his Picture Book Biographies series that I have read. For the most part, I found it a serviceable book, one which could be used to introduce the topic of Columbus and his voyages of discovery to younger audiences, six years old and under, I would say. The basic outline of the story is there, and is told in an engaging enough way, accompanied by fairly sweet illustrations from John and Alexandra Wallner, who have also worked on other titles in Adler's series. There is very little here about the consequences of Columbus' voyage for the native peoples of the Caribbean, something other reviewers have noted. The sole mention of this reality is the statement that "Christopher found that the men who stayed behind after the first voyage had been cruel to the Indians. The Indians had killed them all." On the whole, I think this approach is suitable for very young children, acknowledging that bad things happened, but not describing them or dwelling upon them in a way that would be inappropriate and traumatic, given their age. That said, I also feel that this approach would be inadequate for older children, who are better able to handle the fuller picture. In sum: recommended to readers looking for picture-book biographies for the younger range of children, ages four to six.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-05-28 00:00:00 Michael Sysavath I learned a lot of Christopher Columbus younger years and his family history. Also, his wife was mentioned. The story however is painted as him being a hero and I think that wasn't the case. It can be controversial when teaching history, but then again I feel it's the school's choice of how they want to handle that. The picture illustrated show a peaceful and caring person, and blame the death of the indians on the men that stayed behind. This book is geared towards probably 1-3 grade.