The Adventures of Marco Polo by Russell Freedman

Freedman, Russell. (2006). The Adventures of Marco Polo. New York: Arthur A. Levine
Books.

Grade Level:
I would recommend this book for students in grades 3rd – 6th.

Author Credibility:
Russell Freedman is a well renown children’s book author. Freedman discusses the critics in the book and what they believe. These critics believe Marco Polo never actually made it to China. Freedman discusses their viewpoints and even gives suggestions to answer their questions. In the Author’s Note Freedman discusses were he got his information. This book won several awards including: School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, 2006 Parents' Choice Silver Honor, and Notable Children’s Book Award.

Summary:
The first chapter of this book presents the question did Marco Polo really travel to China? It gives an overview of his journey, and tells how many people did not believe Marco Polo’s wild, adventurous stories. The second chapter starts with Marco Polo as a young boy. His father and uncle are merchants and they travel ending up in China in the palace of the Kublai Khan. The Polo brothers returned home with a promise to return. When they return home Marco was seventeen. On their return journey Marco Polo joined his father and uncle. They brought with them many gifts from the pope. Freedman then tells about the Polo’s journey to China. They crossed deserts, changed routes, and had many adventures just getting to China. Finally they arrived at the court of Kublai Khan. There was a great party. Marco Polo tells of many of the experencies he had in this court. According to him he became a trusted advisor and traveled throughout the empire on missions for the Khan. Marco Polo vividly describes one of his favorite cities, Quinsai. Eventually, the Polos decide it is time to go home. The Khan does not want them to leave, but finally agrees when they agree. The story ends by telling of what the Polos did when they returned home. Marco led a normal rest of his life. The final chapter of the book discusses the critics and what they believe about Marco Polo. Freedman presents their viewpoint and presents possible answers to their questions.

Standards:
Social Studies:
*Culture
*People, Places, and Environments
*Power, Authority, and Governance
*Global Connections

Illustrations:
The illustrations in this book were done by Bagram Ibatoulling. The illustrations changed as the book progressed. For example, when Marco Polo was in Europe Ibatoulling drew illustrations inspired from that era and that region. As Marco Polo arrived in China the illustrations changed to reflect that region. Archival and period work are also found throughout the book. Some of these even come from editions of Marco Polo’s book. These are listed in the Note on Archival Art.

Access Features:
*Table of Contents
*Index
*Author’s Note
*Art Note

How I would use the book in the classroom:
This book would be good to use when learning about Marco Polo’s adventures. It could also be used when doing a unit on explorers. This book gave such vivid descriptions of China and the Mongolian empire. Therefore, this book would be good to use when studying these aspects.

My response to the book:
I enjoyed reading this book. I did not know a lot about Marco Polo before reading this book. One of the things I liked best about this book is that Freedman gave an explanation for the things Marco Polo told about. For example Marco Polo told about huge snakes and serpents that could swallow a person in one gulp. Freedman explains that these are probably crocodiles. He had never seen these before so he described them the best he could.

Related Texts:
The Travels of Marco Polo by Marco Polo

Other:
This book is divided into chapters with 60 pages. The end pages are maroon. The title page, table of contents, and index are bordered with a maroon, antique border. The title and the names of the chapters are written in a type of writing that reminds me of older times. The pages are a tan with a marble look. This gives the sense of an older manuscript.