Marco Polo

As with other titles by Demi, Marco Polo is as much a joy to look at as it is to read. Marco Polo is of course, the story of the remarkable explorer's journeys - over 33,000 miles and 24 years - particularly remarkable considering the time period and transportation available, 1271-1295AD!
Attacked by bandits in a desert dust storm, robbed by Indian pirates in the Arabian Sea, crossing the 20,000 foot high Pamir Mountains, Demi's telling of Marco Polo's journey reads like the fictional Tales of the Arabian Nights - a fantastic story of wonders and adventures - but of course, it's true. Whenever possible, Demi captures the essence of the time by quoting from The Travels of Marco Polo, the book which he dictated from prison after he fought show more and was captured in a battle for his beloved Venice in 1298.

"He described wild orange men with tails, or orangutans, and huge "unicorns nearly the size of elephants," or rhinoceroses!"

She does not invent dialogue, choosing rather to tell the story as true to Polo's own narrative as possible.

Each page contains an illustration bordered by replicas of Chinese and Indian embroidery or Italian, Arabian, and Persian designs. The artwork is a colorful and in the flat style evocative of medieval times. Demi uses Chinese inks and glossy, gold overlays in her depictions of Marco's many exploits. Marco Polo is easily identified in each scene by the red feather in his head covering. Important characters or images from each illustration often spill over the border onto the blank space, which is reminiscent of a creamy linen or parchment paper.

This is a lovely book that would make an excellent choice for sharing with youngsters at bedtime, or in a school setting over several sessions. Unfortunately, as with many books of this type, its slim size and many illustrations makes it an unlikely choice for a school assignment. Conversely, its rich detail and language make it an unlikely choice for preschoolers. Teachers assigning books based on the number of pages, might want to take a fresh look at some of the wonderful picture books being written for older readers.

My only complaint is that the map was not placed in the front of the book, giving the reader a preview of the extraordinary journey of this extraordinary man. show less

I have to own this book. The sumptuous design and and layout of the book is reminiscent of a book of hours from the Italian renaissance. The design is integral to the presentation of the life of Marco Polo as he travelled to places others had never been and returned with tales of lavish palaces, rich spices, and foreign royal courts. The illustrations work in harmony with the text to allow images of the far East to grow in the reader's mind much as they would have in those to whom Polo told his tale or those who read his book. The author presents the story chronologically, but there are times within the book where the details of the narrative become less than easy to follow. There is so much that happens to Polo, and much time that show more passes. Attempting to distill that amount to time and fact into 56 pages unsurprisingly leaves muddled narrative, but the overall story is captivating, There is a tremendous amount of information held within these pages, and it would likely be a bit overwhelming for a younger reader. This could be a fabulous book to direct a middle school student to if they were particularly interested in exploration or to help students imagine how long and difficult the trip may have been for the Polo family. In the back of the book there is a gilded map showing the travel routes that Polo took both to get to China and to return to Italy. These winding routes, planned to avoid dangers and ease the pains of travel show how far the journey was and how many different cultures the Polos would have come into contact with. show less

Demi's Marco Polo is a excellent book for children: the beautiful and exotic illustrations surrounded by gold ink and the simplistic details (loosely based on Polo's own writings) of the foreign animals and cultures encountered by Polo can hold one's attention. His travels through Constantinople, Persia, Afghanistan, and other places; attacks by pirates; and caravans through the desert are tales I've been unfamiliar with; I'd grown up only knowing that he'd traveled the Silk Road and that everything interesting mentioned was related to his stay in China. There's more to Polo's travels than Kublai Khan, and there are more than enough reasons to get young students interested in history and exploration.

For myself, I'd give this three stars, but since my kids liked it so much, I'm giving it four. The parts they liked best involved Marco Polo's descriptions of animals. Their especial favorite was the description of a rhinoceros: "a very ugly unicorn that looked like a pig."

I'm not certain my kids have a broad sense of Marco Polo's place in history after reading this book, but they've got a start. And it was a fun book to read aloud to them.

Demi tells her readers about the life of one of the world’s greatest explorers, Marco Polo. Polo is known for brining Eastern culture and goods to the West in the late 13th early 14th centuries. Many are familiar with his story and his importance. Demi manages to tell his story in a way that is not repetitive of the same tales of Marco Polo that we are all familiar with.

One thing that sets Demi’s work apart from others is her illustrations. The book jacket mentions that, “She painted the book with Chinese inks and gold overlays and used a mix of Chinese and Indian embroidery and Italian, Arabic, and Persian designs”. Her choice in illustrations make the reader feel that they are reading a text written during the time of show more Polo’s travels. This book would be good to use as a supplemental reading when teaching about Marco Polo. It is short enough to be read in the span of one class with time for discussions. Also this book would be a good resource for someone during a project on Marco Polo. show less

A detailed and exotic picture book of Marco Polo's journey through Turkey, Armenia, and the Middle East, before finally reaching China.
Marco traveled with his father, Niccolo, and his uncle, Maffeo. This book tells about the three men traveling through Hormuz, on the Persian Gulf, the Rudbar Plain, Baghdad and present Afghanistan, the Taklimakan Dessert, among other magnificently unknown and undiscovered parts of the world. Finally, they make it to the Chinese border in 1275 where they are greeted by Kublai Khan. There in China, Marco leans about the Chinese inventions like gunpowder, kites, the pony express, coal, spaghetti, the umbrella, silk, the spinning wheel, the compass, and the printing press.
Marco traveled throughout China show more and gained more knowledge of the world than any man who had ever lived. He even found a beautiful Persian princess to be his bride. When the three Polo men finally returned home, their relatives thought that they had died many years before. Unfortunately, many people, including their own family and friends, thought that the Polo men were crazy and made everything about their adventures up. Despite Marco's many hardships, his travels are forever remembered.
This is one of the most beautifully illustrated books I have ever seen. Each page is detailed with trimmings of gold paint and each culture and place Marco visited is shown vividly. show less

I would probably use this book in grade 5 to teach in a World Geography Class. With this book, students can learn about the adventures of Marco Polo in the 13th and 14th centuries. While reading this book, I would show students the extent of Marco Polo's travels with a map. I think kids may enjoy this book if it was used as a read-aloud, but it is very long. I would not see myself getting through the entire book in one class period. It would also be a good book to keep in a classroom library. I think kids would like this book because it is a more interesting way to learn about China. I always remember being so bored learning about this topic because my teachers were never able to really bring it to life, and i think this book would be a show more good way to do that. show less