Journeys: Tales of Travel and Trailblazers

Travel has always been fascinating to humans, whether by land or water or air. And people are pretty interested in those adventurers who broke new ground or set new records or took the chances most are reluctant to. This book is a celebration of journeys that have been recorded in history, from the ancient Greeks and Chinese to today’s space travel. The book takes on the look of a sketchbook journal as one might have kept in the 1800s, with pen-and-ink illustrations on heavy paper with only a wash of a single muted color on each spread. The four sections include Water, Land, Ice and Snow, and Man and Machine. Designed for the middle-grade audience, this book should find a lot of readers. The choices include stories such as a man who bicycled around the world before there were even balloon tires and a blind man who travelled the equivalent of 10 trips around the world beginning in the early 1800s. The writing is good and good research is shown on every page, but the book could use more maps. Middle-graders who like history will love this book.