Edward Garboczi
Tag: Book Review
In a child’s book journey, two milestones are: the first chapter book read to them and the first chapter book that they can read for themselves. Usually, we think about this milestone applying to fiction, since there are many easy-to-read chapter books for children. Clyde Robert Bulla’s books are a great example. However, for non-fiction, I feel that there is sometimes less of an assortment available, with an exception being The Step-Up Book series. These are well-written, with large type and lovely illustrations, first chapter books that tell the story of a person or part of history.
Two titles that are particularly good are Meet the Men Who Sailed the Seas, by John Dyment, and The Adventures of Lewis and Clark, by Ormonde de Kay. The Seven Seas book describes ocean explorers and adventurers from ancient times to about 1900. These voyages truly made our modern world. The men who undertook these voyages were brave, resourceful men, some of whom will not be familiar even to adults. Imagine the isolation of these voyages. These men were far more on their own and out of contact with home than were the first Apollo lunar explorers, who were farther away from home and equally unable to be rescued in case of trouble but were always in radio contact with people back on earth. The Adventures of Lewis and Clark tells the story of the expedition sent out in 1804 by President Thomas Jefferson, led by Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, to explore the immense territory of the Louisiana Purchase. This Step-Up book is the perfect introduction, for an elementary school reader, to the Captains’ many adventures and to the importance of their discoveries. Fifteen states came out of the Louisiana Purchase, all directly linked back to the Lewis and Clark expedition.