Edward Garboczi
Tag: Book Review
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The story of the explorers, starting with Christopher Columbus (and possibly the Vikings and St. Brendan of Ireland), who discovered and opened up the New World is both exciting to learn and useful for understanding the present. There are many books on this topic, but not many for younger children. America Begins: The Story of the Finding of the New World, by Alice Dalgliesh, is just such a book and one of the best in the field. An older elementary student could profitably read this nicely illustrated volume and learn about all the major explorers who contributed to the opening of the New World. It would serve well as the start of a multiyear curriculum on explorers. Ms. Dalgliesh writes beautifully and simply, which is not surprising since she was a renowned children’s author known for The Courage of Sarah Noble, The Bears on Hemlock Mountain, The Thanksgiving Story, and The Fourth of July Story. Alice Dalgliesh is an author worth knowing, and practically anything she wrote is worth reading—including, most certainly, America Begins: The Story of the Finding of the New World.