I would probably use this book in grade 5 to teach in a World Geography Class. With this book, students can learn about the adventures of Marco Polo in the 13th and 14th centuries. While reading this book, I would show students the extent of Marco Polo's travels with a map. I think kids may enjoy this book if it was used as a read-aloud, but it is very long. I would not see myself getting through the entire book in one class period. It would also be a good book to keep in a classroom library. I think kids would like this book because it is a more interesting way to learn about China. I always remember being so bored learning about this topic because my teachers were never able to really bring it to life, and i think this book would be a good way to do that. ( )

Summary:
The Adventures of Marco Polo is an excellent read for children in that it brings the adventures of one of the worlds most remarkable explorers to the pages of literature along with pictures that combine both eastern and western art from that period of the late 14th century and the early 15th century to life. She tells of the trials and tribulations that Marco Polo experienced during his travels to include the dangers.
Personal Reaction:
My reaction to this book is a positive one. I would give it five stars. Having a degree in history I found that she used the illustrations to great satisfaction to help get the complicated story across to students of a young age.
Classroom Extension Ideas:
To employ this book in the classroom I would provide a world map or globe to show the children the extent of Marco Polo's travels. Along with bringing samples of the types of items that he would have traded along the way. ( )

Demi tells her readers about the life of one of the world’s greatest explorers, Marco Polo. Polo is known for brining Eastern culture and goods to the West in the late 13th early 14th centuries. Many are familiar with his story and his importance. Demi manages to tell his story in a way that is not repetitive of the same tales of Marco Polo that we are all familiar with.

One thing that sets Demi’s work apart from others is her illustrations. The book jacket mentions that, “She painted the book with Chinese inks and gold overlays and used a mix of Chinese and Indian embroidery and Italian, Arabic, and Persian designs”. Her choice in illustrations make the reader feel that they are reading a text written during the time of Polo’s travels. This book would be good to use as a supplemental reading when teaching about Marco Polo. It is short enough to be read in the span of one class with time for discussions. Also this book would be a good resource for someone during a project on Marco Polo. ( )

A detailed and exotic picture book of Marco Polo's journey through Turkey, Armenia, and the Middle East, before finally reaching China.
Marco traveled with his father, Niccolo, and his uncle, Maffeo. This book tells about the three men traveling through Hormuz, on the Persian Gulf, the Rudbar Plain, Baghdad and present Afghanistan, the Taklimakan Dessert, among other magnificently unknown and undiscovered parts of the world. Finally, they make it to the Chinese border in 1275 where they are greeted by Kublai Khan. There in China, Marco leans about the Chinese inventions like gunpowder, kites, the pony express, coal, spaghetti, the umbrella, silk, the spinning wheel, the compass, and the printing press.
Marco traveled throughout China and gained more knowledge of the world than any man who had ever lived. He even found a beautiful Persian princess to be his bride. When the three Polo men finally returned home, their relatives thought that they had died many years before. Unfortunately, many people, including their own family and friends, thought that the Polo men were crazy and made everything about their adventures up. Despite Marco's many hardships, his travels are forever remembered.
This is one of the most beautifully illustrated books I have ever seen. Each page is detailed with trimmings of gold paint and each culture and place Marco visited is shown vividly. ( )

Demi's Marco Polo is a excellent book for children: the beautiful and exotic illustrations surrounded by gold ink and the simplistic details (loosely based on Polo's own writings) of the foreign animals and cultures encountered by Polo can hold one's attention. His travels through Constantinople, Persia, Afghanistan, and other places; attacks by pirates; and caravans through the desert are tales I've been unfamiliar with; I'd grown up only knowing that he'd traveled the Silk Road and that everything interesting mentioned was related to his stay in China. There's more to Polo's travels than Kublai Khan, and there are more than enough reasons to get young students interested in history and exploration. ( )