The Adventures of Marco Polo - (Graphic History) by Roger Smalley (Paperback)

About the Book

In graphic novel format, describes the travels of Marco Polo in Asia and what he experienced.

Book Synopsis

Tells the story of Marco Polo's journey to China, describing some of the things he saw while in the service of Kublai Khan. Written in graphic-novel format.

Review Quotes

Debuting this spring are two curriculum-connected, full-color comics series aimed at elementary- and middle-graders: Capstone's Graphic Library and Rosen's Graphic Nonfiction. Both series cling to popular social-science topics, with an eye toward multiculturalism (e.g., both offer volumes about Harriet Tubman), and though the individual volumes have been created by diverse authors and illustrators, the series themselves each have a consistent look and feel. Both include glossaries and other appendixes for student use; they also have tight bindings that will help them circulate longer, but may intrude on their appeal to reluctant readers. Marco Polo is an engaging introduction to the Italian explorer's travels to the court of Kublai Khan, with art that occasionally rises above simple illustration to provide narrative content. A good representative of the series, it uses a broad approach to its subject's life and achievements, and it includes traditional narrative front matter (written at a higher level than the main text) and maps, which are often overly busy.-- "Booklist"

In 1298, some of the prisoners in one of the prisons in Genoa were able to hear a fabulous story. The story teller was a man called Marco Polo and he told his companions about his life and how, when he was just a young man, he traveled to China with his father and his uncle. The three Italians faced many hardships before they finally arrived at the palace of Kublai Khan who eagerly wanted to hear from the travelers. Marco became a particular favorite of Kublai Khan who asked the young man to become his ambassador. This Marco was glad to do and he went on many trips all over Asia and saw many wondrous things. He then went back to his master and told him about the things he had seen. After seventeen years, Marco, his father, and his uncle began the long journey home. Luckily for the world Marco's story was written down. It was turned into a book which people still read today with great interest. This is a fascinating account of the life of one of the world's most famous and extraordinary explorers. Action packed comic style illustrations capture the highlights of some of Marco's trips and readers will certainly be encouraged to find out more about this exceptional man.-- "Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Review"

These books offer high-interest subject matter in a graphic-novel format. Historically accurate, each one presents brief information about the featured event. Yellowish-tan bubbles indicate direct quotations from primary sources. Alamo, Lincoln, and Polo are slightly stronger as stories thatn King Tut, perhaps because they are about real events while Tut is as much about a superstition as it is about Howard Carter's discoveries. And make no mistake, these are stories, based on fact and classified as nonfiction; there is invented dialogue, which is close to melogramatic at times. Thoughts and feelings are also fictionalized. Likely to be snatched up by young and reluctant readers, these titles work as hooks to lead to more in-depth information or as fun and interesting reads. Colorful artwork with strong black lines is competently done and contributes to a sense of time and place. Great literature? No. Shelf sitters? Definitely not. Peg Glisson, Mendon Center Elementary School, Pittsford, NY-- "School Library Journal"