BOOK NAME: Looking for Marco Polo
AUTHOR:
Alan Armstrong

Looking for Marco Polo is a good book. I like it because I like learning about explorers and it is a good adventure book.

It is about this boy named Mark, and his dad is going on a trip to the desert where Marco Polo went. His dad can only bring a bag that has less than 20 pounds in it. Mark’s father puts two gold coins in his socks and salt in his backpack. The salt is good for trading and the two gold coins are for emergencies. He also brings as much water as he can because there’s never enough water in the desert. He ends up with 19 ½ pounds in his pack so he fills up the rest of the space with maps.

Mark’s dad gets lost, so Mark and his mother go to Venice, Italy to try and find him. Venice is where his dad’s trip started, and it’s also where Marco Polo started his trip.

Marco Polo is a famous explorer. He explored some of China and traveled on the Silk Road. Mark gets sick…the same kind of sickness that Marco Polo had. His mother calls a doctor, someone who worked in a war with his dad. Marco Polo had a big black dog, and the doctor had the same kind of dog. One night, the dog starts talking to Mark and explains that he’s a relative of Marco Polo’s dog.

Mark hangs out with the doctor and the doctor tells he and his mother the story of Marco Polo. In real life, Marco Polo meets a man in prison. Marco tells his story to the man who ended up writing his famous book. Marco died before he finished his full story and he says on his deathbed: “I’ve only told half of what I know.”

I would recommend this book for kids ages 7-11. You would like this book because it is a cool adventure book. It will help you learn about explorers in social studies.