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charlizzy's review
5.0
We always enjoy the beautiful D'Aulaire books, but this one might be our favorite so far (though we haven't read Abe or Ben or Buffalo Bill).
10_4tina's review
1.0
I was not a fan of the way this piece of history was discussed in this resource. Columbus didn't just bring new friends to the new world, he captured people and took them against their will with him to an old world that was new to him. The book frames history with an us vs. them and a good guys vs. bad guys mentality that did not feel helpful when learning history with the kids in a polarized world that already pushes us all into those dichotomies.
e_ramirez_ortega's review
3.0
This one was a read aloud in the homeschool for the subject of Early American History, as prescribed by Beautiful Feet Books. I enjoyed much about it but like any discerning home educator who is careful about whose hands our histories are placed in, I had to take time to pause and explain certain variables that surfaced in the reading. More on that later.
I'm fascinated by children's books that not only tell a good story but present it with intriguing, delightful illustrations. Utilizing the Charlotte Mason method in the home school draws me to living books that tell a story with the least amount of twaddle and insult to intelligence, with careful consideration to children's sensibilities. The D'Aulaire's are masters of this (in fact, I enjoy how they inserted the Leif Erikson saga on page 16-- a nod to their other title, Leif the Lucky). However...
We need to be careful to take time with our young readers as they bear witness to history told in the narrative voice with no qualms about offense, or insult. Take for instance, page 34, which presents the claiming of the land by Columbus, the description of the indigenous people as "red-skinned savages," and then this anecdote: "The Spaniards did not mind being treated like gods by these gentle heathens to whom they had come to bring the Christian faith." I needed to explain to my daughter that Christian and Catholic are not synonymous, and it bears repeating over and over again when these faiths are categorized as equal. Columbus was motivated by Queen Isabella to share the Catholic faith. Distinctions are a matter of great importance. And this reference is layered with more to explain to the young reader, to be a critical thinker when digesting information like this.
Overall, I would recommend this book for the home school reading repertoire, but with careful direction, whilst allowing the young student to draw conclusions, to make inferences that are self-directed...that is what makes this exercise more enticing for future readings. Again, this title is not a text, but rather a narrative account that, truth be told, interested me in perhaps reading the accounts of Columbus himself through his journals that I'm sure will be equally informative as they would be incendiary. I was quite impressed that my daughter saw Columbus in his true form and it is my hope that other children will as well.
I'm fascinated by children's books that not only tell a good story but present it with intriguing, delightful illustrations. Utilizing the Charlotte Mason method in the home school draws me to living books that tell a story with the least amount of twaddle and insult to intelligence, with careful consideration to children's sensibilities. The D'Aulaire's are masters of this (in fact, I enjoy how they inserted the Leif Erikson saga on page 16-- a nod to their other title, Leif the Lucky). However...
We need to be careful to take time with our young readers as they bear witness to history told in the narrative voice with no qualms about offense, or insult. Take for instance, page 34, which presents the claiming of the land by Columbus, the description of the indigenous people as "red-skinned savages," and then this anecdote: "The Spaniards did not mind being treated like gods by these gentle heathens to whom they had come to bring the Christian faith." I needed to explain to my daughter that Christian and Catholic are not synonymous, and it bears repeating over and over again when these faiths are categorized as equal. Columbus was motivated by Queen Isabella to share the Catholic faith. Distinctions are a matter of great importance. And this reference is layered with more to explain to the young reader, to be a critical thinker when digesting information like this.
Overall, I would recommend this book for the home school reading repertoire, but with careful direction, whilst allowing the young student to draw conclusions, to make inferences that are self-directed...that is what makes this exercise more enticing for future readings. Again, this title is not a text, but rather a narrative account that, truth be told, interested me in perhaps reading the accounts of Columbus himself through his journals that I'm sure will be equally informative as they would be incendiary. I was quite impressed that my daughter saw Columbus in his true form and it is my hope that other children will as well.
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