The Adventures of Marco Polo

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Freedman, Russell. Ill. Bagram Ibatoulline. THE ADVENTURES OF MARCO POLO. New York: Scholastics, 2006.

PLOT SUMMARY
THE ADVENTURES OF MARCO POLO is an account of his life and the adventures he had along the way. He told extravagant stories of explorations of new places and descriptions of farfetched things. People did not believe his stories nevertheless his accounts are present in this story of his life.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The author provides a note that all translations of Marco Polo’s life are based on different versions of Polo’s original manuscript. This note is appreciated by readers because there are often discrepancies in different works and this author provides a reason for that.

This book is told from a third person point of view. The author gives accounts of Marco Polo’s life as he knows it from Polo’s manuscript. He does not pretend to be Marco Polo or someone that knew him. Direct dialogue from Marco Polo is seen in the book and is said to have come directly from Marco Polo’s manuscript which gives accuracy and authenticity to the book.

The organization of the book makes it easy for the reader to find what they are looking for. The chapters are arranged by adventure. Each chapter is a different adventure of Marco Polo. The index also provides direct page numbers to important parts of the book. This makes it easier for research to be done.

The illustrations add imagery as well as authenticity to the book. The illustrator reflected his style to represent the cultures that Marco Polo came across on his journeys. All of the illustrations are inspired or taken from archival art such as manuscripts, maps, portraits, and ancient paintings.

While the overall appeal of the book is enjoyable because of its organization and imagery, the fact of the matter is that Marco Polo is the subject of the book. Whether you believe his stories or not, one must be interested in his adventures in order to be interested in this book.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Ibatoulline's handsome single-page paintings appear at the beginning of each chapter, anchoring the telling, even while the artistic conventions adapt to the culture being depicted. The calligraphic font of the chapter headings and the parchmentlike pages add to the sense of an authentic experience. The author's in-depth narrative style and historian's skepticism require more background knowledge and a longer attention span than Nick McCarty's Marco Polo (National Geographic, 2006), but the effort will be richly rewarded. SLJ

The original artwork is complemented by many historic illustrations, some from editions of Polo's Description of the World. The meticulous art notes call attention to the lack of text source notes, although Freedman does include an extensive, informative author's note about Polo's claims. With its thick, mottled pages and attractive design, this is a glorious piece of bookmaking; readers will find it a pleasure to explore. BOOKLIST


CONNECTIONS
This would be a great book to use as a model of the features of a nonfiction book. The teacher should read the story and have the students pick out the features of the book that make it nonfiction. Ex. Table of contents, picture captions, and index.

Research project: Have each student pick an explorer/adventurer to research. This book can be used as a resource. Then have the students give a presentation on their explorer for the rest of the class to learn about.