Westward with Columbus - Hardcover

John Dyson

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0340555645 ISBN 13: 9780340555644

Publisher: MADISON PRESS BOOKS, 1991, 1991

Synopsis

Retells the story of Columbus's first voyage, and uses the experiences gained by sailing a replica of the Nina to describe what that trip must have been like

About this title

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7-- Fiction alternates with fact in this account of a modern voyage undertaken to prove that Columbus took a more southerly route than is generally believed. The nonfiction portion describes the trip made by Spanish historian, Luis Miguel Coin, who believes that Columbus followed a secret map through Portuguese-held waters. Excellent full-color photographs show a crew of students dressed in 15th-century costume, aboard ship and reenacting Columbus's claiming of the New World for Spain. A map shows the historically accepted route as well as Coin's, and the narrative explains the natural clues he used to support his claim. The fictional account of Pedro, a young deck hand on the Santa Maria who returns to Spain on the Nina after that vessel sank, incorporates many details of shipboard life, portrays the anguish of the Indians who were forced to accompany Columbus to Spain, and gives a plausible (if undocumented) explanation of how there could have been a secret map. While students doing reports may find the alternating texts confusing, the book is valuable for the illustrative material. Readers may wish to compare it with the Roops' I, Columbus (Walker, 1990), which consists of excerpts from Columbus's own shipboard journals and with Nancy Levinson's Christopher Columbus (Lodestar, 1990), which incorporates much recent scholarship on Columbus into a readable work. --Jean H. Zimmerman, Willett School, South River, NJ
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly

A fictionalized account of Columbus's voyage featuring one of the ship's boys is sandwiched rather jarringly in the middle of a brief discussion of a modern-day expedition aboard a replica of the Nina. Just when curiosity is piqued by the contemporary proceedings, the text swerves abruptly to "Spain, May 23, 1492." While the book incorporates abundant information into both its factual and fictitious segments, the format and design seem helter-skelter; the work ultimately attempts too much and succeeds only in confusing the reader. Even the illustrations are an uneasy amalgam of styles: many spreads contain Christopher's excellent photographs, historical drawings and--apparently uncredited--original drawings, charts and maps. Occasional sidebars add to the jumble. It appears that a unique, potentially intriguing account of a stalwart band trying to relive Columbus's historic journey has been sacrificed for yet another fictitious treatment. A better novelization for this age group is Miriam Schlein's recent I Sailed with Columbus . Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: MADISON PRESS BOOKS, 1991
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0340555645
• ISBN 13: 9780340555644
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Illustrator: Peter Christopher