In Their Own Words: Christopher Columbus

In Their Own Words

by Peter Roop, Connie Roop

Drawn from the journals he kept during his four voyages to the New World, the enthralling story of Christopher Columbus details his many discoveries that changed world history forever. Simultaneous.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Childrens, History

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Peter Roop is an award-winning author and educator who has written over one hundred children’s books including biographies, novels, humor, picture books, and science books. Seven of his books are Reading Rainbow books, including the Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie. In 2013, the Wisconsin Library Association recognized Peter and his wife, Connie Roop, as Notable Wisconsin Authors for their body of work, and Peter has been named a Wisconsin State Teacher of the Year. The Roops live in Appleton, Wisconsin.

Reviews

[Ms. B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Even though Columbus Day is not observed as it once was, it still is a federal holiday that falls on the second Monday of October to celebrate Columbus's arrival in the Americas on October 12, 1492. The holiday was already losing popularity when I student taught 4th grade in the fall of 1992 (500th Anniversary of his discovery). My students even wrote point of view paragraphs/papers about it.
This book came out about 10 years later in 2000 and is based on Columbus's diary and a few other secondary sources. It packs a lot of information into 120 pages, but not much of it is about any of the controversies surrounding his discovery. If this was the only book that you read about Columbus, it would leave you believing that he was a decent man who wanted to discover gold and convert others to Christianity. What was even more interesting was that it reminded me a lot of a picture book, A Book About Christopher Columbus I read back in early elementary school.

[BarbaraW · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kinda sad he gets a bad rap. Many of the ignorant Spanish sailors on his ships were cruel to native Americans not necessarily him. He felt pressure from the Spanish Isabella to bring back gold so it forced extreme measures. If not him- someone else would have done the same thing. Survival of the fittest.

[Marissa Morrison · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you wait until page 61, you will find out that Columbus enslaved native people in the Caribbean. However, in no part of this book will you find a clear description of the experiences of those enslaved people.

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read for a project or a book report. Lots of good information.

[Courtney Umlauf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Accessible 4th grade level non-fiction on the life of Christopher Columbus.

- The introduction explains exactly what a primary source is, which I think is an important concept for the young reader to understand

- I really appreciated that the author made a point of explaining that Columbus didn't really "discover" America, but that there were millions of people already inhabiting the land.

- Roop even went so far as to always place the word Indians in quotation marks to impress on the reader that the only reason they're called that is because Columbus was lost and thought he was in the West Indies.

I learned plenty from reading this. It's well written, but I don't think this is the book to choose if you're trying to spark a love of history in a disinterested student. Something with color pictures and a more conversational tone would be better in that case. But for those who already enjoy learning about history, this is a solid read.

[Marcie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A sanitized children's book. The value comes that, in his own words, you can tell what an egomaniacal ass he was.