Rating: **** 4 stars

Gillian Clements
The Picture History of Great Explorers
Frances Lincoln.

Ages 8-10

Clements' approach to history has a strangely old-fashioned feel to it, reminiscent of the best of Victorian children's information books. She studied illustration under Raymond Briggs, and clearly shares her mentor's skill in the use of the cartoon format for story-telling. It works well here to trace the story of a voyage or the sequence of events over many years. More than 80 explorers are included, from the ancient world to today's explorers whose frontiers are the deepest oceans, the Moon and Mars. Marco Polo, Columbus, Vasco da Gama and Richard Burton are all to be found here, but also lesser-known figures, such as Réné-Auguste Caillié, who became the first European to reach Timbuktu, and Isabella Bird Bishop, whose travels in Asia and India inspired other women travellers. A glossary and index are included.

Sue Unstead
November 2006, No. 161

Guide to the rating system:
***** 5 stars, unmissable
**** 4 stars, very good
*** 3 stars, good
** 2 stars, fair
* 1 star, poor