Christopher Columbus: From Vision to Voyage

School Library Journal

Gr 3-5-- Unlike the many titles on Columbus that focus on his voyages, this one is concerned more with his early life, the vision that inspired his explorations, and his long and difficult quest for funds to supply and furnish his ships. The book begins with the start of his 1492 voyage, and then shifts quickly to 1459 and his childhood in Genoa. In chapters headed by years, Anderson describes some of the key experiences of her subject's early life--working as an agent for his father's weaving business, learning navigation and languages in his brother's chart shop, developing his vision of sailing west to India, and presenting his plans to King John of Portugal and then to Isabella and Ferdinand. While clearly and objectively written, the text contains a number of fictionalized conversations. Ancona's excellent full-color photographs show members of the Spanish National Opera dressed in period costumes and posed amidst authentic-looking sets in Spain. A map showing Columbus's four voyages and a list of the important people and places that figured in his life are appended to the narrative. Children who prefer photographs to any other form of illustration should like this book, but they may be disappointed that it ends just as the real adventure of Columbus's life begins. --Jean H. Zimmerman, Willett School, South River, NJ