Marco Polo Resources
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Year 3 Booklist
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Marco Polo Resources
AO Curriculum Overview
2022-2023 Pre-change Books/Schedules
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We don't know of any excellently-written books about Marco Polo for children still in print (though we've found one online), you may have luck checking out what your library has. Some we have seen and can recommend if you can find one:
Marco Polo: His Travels and Adventures, by George Makepiece Towle, 1880, is a nicely written version for children, though it's written in an older style. (£) (The text linked is AO's corrected copy minus typos, and includes a few modern place names to help with locating his travels on a map.)
Marco Polo: A Story of the Middle Ages, by Edna Mitchell Preston ($amzn)
To Far Cathay, by William C. Bagley Jr., 1935
Marco Polo: Voyager to the Orient, by Carol Greene ($amzn)
Marco Polo (Messner Biography) 1952, by Manuel Komroff, illustrated by Robin Jacques (Not to be confused with the grown-up book about Marco Polo by Komroff which is currently in print; (£) ($amzn)
Marco Polo, by Manuel Komroff, illustrated by Edgard Cirlin (a 1960's paperback reprint of the Messner publication listed above. Not to be confused with the grown-up book about Marco Polo by Komroff which is currently in print; ($amzn)
Marco Polo's Adventures in China by Milton Rugoff 1965 ($amzn)
Marco Polo: Journey Across the World by Charles P. Graves ($amzn)
The Story of Marco Polo by Olive Price, illustrated by Federico Castellon, 1953 ($amzn)
Adventures and Discoveries of Marco Polo, by R. J. Walsh; a Landmark Book ($amzn) was found to be too dry for most students
Marco Polo for Kids (His Marvelous Journey to China), by Janis Herbert is fun, but may have objectionable material and will need parental screening. ($amzn) (K)
Adventures of Marco Polo, by Russell Freedman is a nice option with maps and pictures. ($amzn)
Marco Polo, His Travels and Adventures · * by George M. Towle, 1880: "I have attempted to transform the somewhat dry and monotonous translation of this narrative into an entertaining story, that may engage the attention and the interest of my young readers . . ." (£)
It will be useful to obtain a Marco Polo picture book, either for children or adults, for the student to narrate and then examine the pictures of the landscapes, artifacts, animals, modes of travel, people, agricultural methods, cities, peroid paintings, trade goods, ancient printing, silk worms, maps.
They should also study the maps. As a project the children can mark up a blank (or almost blank) map of Asia with remarkable physical features of the land and other things of interest concerning his travels on a blank map. A good (but out of print) children's book for this is A Marco Polo Picture/Geography book like Marco Polo: Overland to Medieval China (Beyond the Horizons) by Clint Twist. ($amzn)
Marco Polo Sites
http://www.silk-road.com/artl/marcopolo.shtml
http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/maptext_n2/mongol1.html
http://www.washburn.edu/cas/history/stucker/EHemMap.html
Lesson Plan with many links https://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plans/lesson-1-road-marco-polo-boy-13th-century-venice
National Geographic Feature in two parts
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0105/feature1/
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0106/feature2/
(Thanks to Lorraine M Nessman for many of these links!)
Maps
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/page/p/polo.shtml
http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/maptext_n2/mongol1.html