Where Do You Think You're Going, Christopher Columbus?

by Jean Fritz

Bringing History to Life

On This Page

Description

Discusses the voyages of Christopher Columbus who determined to beat everyone in the race to the Indies.

Tags

Recommendations

Member Reviews

3 reviews
This biography of Christopher Columbus for a juvenile audience summarizes all of the major events in his life, not just his 1492 voyage. It celebrates his achievements without covering up his flaws. This isn't dull historical writing that discourages young people from studying history. Fritz's lively, descriptive writing interjected with humor makes history come to life. Fritz's style is so appealing that some young readers will pick up her books for pleasure and not of necessity. I do question the use of unnumbered endnotes. There aren't any cues in the text to prompt readers to look at the endnotes for additional information. Many readers won't discover them until they've reached the end of the book.
Genre: nonfiction
Media: ink and color wash
Age Appropriateness: Intermediate
This book is a nonfiction book that tells the story of Christopher Columbus in a story format. This book is a good example of a nonfiction because it is true and contains real facts.

Members

Recently Added By

Lists

Author Information

Picture of author.
70+ Works 42,075 Members
Jean Fritz was born in Hankow, China on November 16, 1915. She received a bachelor's degree in English from Wheaton College in 1937. She wrote picture books and historical fiction before focusing on historical nonfiction. Her first book, Bunny Hopewell's First Spring, was published in 1954. Her other books included And Then What Happened, Paul show more Revere?; Will You Sign Here, John Hancock?; Can't You Make Them Behave, King George?; Shh! We're Writing the Constitution; Traitor: The Case of Benedict Arnold; Where Do You Think You're Going, Christopher Columbus?; Who's That Stepping on Plymouth Rock?; The Double Life of Pocahontas; and George Washington's Mother. Homesick: My Own Story, a collection of linked narratives, traces her life from her girlhood in China to her longed-for yet uneasy passage to America. It won a National Book Award and was named a Newbery Honor Book. She received the Regina Medal by the Catholic Library Association, the National Humanities Medal, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award and the Knickerbocker Award for Juvenile Literature for her body of work. She died on May 14, 2017 at the age of 101. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Some Editions

Tomes, Margot (Illustrator)

Awards and Honors

Series

Common Knowledge

Canonical title
Where Do You Think You're Going, Christopher Columbus?
Original title
Where Do You Think You're Going, Christopher Columbus?
Original publication date
1980 (copyright) (copyright)
People/Characters
Christopher Columbus
Related movies
Where Do You Think You're Going, Christopher Columbus? (1997)
Dedication
To Michael - Adelante!
First words
It was lucky that Christopher Columbus was born where he was or he might never have gone to sea.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)The last thing that he had wanted to do was to discover a New World.

Classifications

Genre
Nonfiction
DDC/MDS
970.01History & geographyHistory of North AmericaHistory of North AmericaNorth America-1599
LCC
E111 .F79History of the United StatesAmericaDiscovery of America and early explorationsColumbus
BISAC

Statistics

Members
847
Popularity
32,205
Reviews
2
Rating
½ (3.67)
Languages
English, French
Media
Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
ISBNs
20
ASINs
5