Vendela in Venice

 Venice is one of those magical, almost surreal cities that everyone should visit at least once if they can.  The other worldly, magical feel of the city will stay with you for the rest of your life.  Made up of 118 islands separated by canals and linked by 409 bridges, there's lots to explore -just avoid the high season in July and August when prices go up and there are tons of other tourists!

Originally written in Swedish,  Vendela in Venice starts with a description of all of the things in Stockholm that are linked to Venice including copies of the four horses in Venice, and the Piraeus Lion at the Historical museum which is a copy of the lion at the Venetian Arsenal.  The lion is covered in Scandinavian runic graffiti from 1000 years ago, though the inscriptions were not recognized as runes until the late 1800s.

Vendela's dad decides it is time for them to take a trip to Venice and they start planning.  They read books about Venice, learn a little bit about the history of the city and finally it is time to go.  They fly into Marco Polo airport on the mainland and decide to take the boat to Venice, which I agree is the best way to enter the city, especially at  night when it is all lit up as it is in the story.

The next day, they're off to see the sights and Vendela's dad offers her a choice of walking or taking the vaporetto (water bus).  Vendella, of course, opts for the vaporetto which is a great way to see the city and is an adventure in and of itself.  Her dad explains how the Lion of St. Mark became the symbol of Venice and during the rest of the story, Vendella goes looking for as many lions as she can find (they are everywhere and finding them is a good game for children).  They of course stop and look at the four horses, both the replicas mounted over the front of St. Mark's Cathedral and the real ones just inside the church. Then it's time for a quick break at Florian's, a cafe which has been around since 1720.

During her trip, Vendela and her father visit hit many of the highlights of Venice, traveling to Murano to watch the glass blowing, viewing the paintings in the Gallerie Academia, visiting the fish market and a gondola workshop as well as a tour of Scuolo di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni  to see the paintings of St. George and the dragon by Carpaccio.

Though told as a story Vendela in Venice, written by Christina Björk and illustrated by Inga-Karin Eriksson, is really a children's guidebook in the guise of a story.  It is full of information on things to see and do and the history of Venice from the time it was founded to the present day, including a discussion of the periodic flooding that Venice experiences.  Though a little dry, it's a great introduction to the art and culture of Venice.  We read it a chapter at a time and my boys really enjoyed looking at the pictures and planning what they wanted to see when we one day go to Venice (including hunting for lions!). Follow @Pattertravelers

A Giraffe goes to Paris

 What would you think a giraffe was if you'd never seen one before?  A camel?  A horse? A leopard with those spots? Based on a true story, A Giraffe Goes to Paris by Mary Tavener Holmes and John Harris, the Pasha of Egypt sends a gift to King Charles X of France in 1826.  No one in France had ever seen a giraffe before and no one knew what she was.

The story is narrated by Atir, Belle's attendant and he tells the story of Belle's trip on the Nile with her entourage of three cows (for milk) and two antelopes (for company).  Fitting a giraffe on a wooden boat is a bit tricky.  It was too dangerous to keep her above on the deck and she was too tall to go below, so they cut a hole in the deck for her head to stick out and and provided her with an umbrella to keep the sun and rain off of her.

When they arrived in Marseilles, people didn't know what to think.  They had never seen such a creature before.   Lavish parties were thrown in Belle's honor, new fashions were started, but they still had to get Belle to Paris so she could be given to the king and Paris was 500 miles further away.  Today you can fly or take the high speed train between Marseilles or even drive, but how would you get a giraffe there?  There were no carts big enough to get her there so they decided to walk the entire five hundred miles.  She of course needed the right clothes to protect her from the different climate.  The temperatures and climates in France are not the same as in Egypt!

They set off for the walk to Paris with quite the entourage and crowds lining the roads to get a glimpse of the fabulous giraffe.  Inns hung out special signs welcoming Belle and they wound their way through Aix-en-Provence, Avignon, Orange, Valence, and Lyons on their way to Paris.  After eight weeks, they finally arrived in Paris and were introduced to the King where Belle charmingly munched rose petals from his hand.  Belle was installed in  Le jardain des plantes  where she lived for the next eighteen years.  In the first six months, more than six hundred thousand Parisians came to see her.  It certainly made us think about the way we take zoos for granted!

A Giraffe Goes to Paris is based on a true story and is a great combination of history and geography with Belle sailing up the Nile and then walking the 500 miles from Marseilles to Paris. My youngest has asked to read it every night this week and really enjoyed the pictures of Belle and tracing the map of her journey.  Le jardain des plantes where Belle lived is the main botanical garden in France.  It also includes the Museum of Palentology, and the Grand Gallery of Evolution along with an entomology and mineralogy museum. Follow @Pattertravelers

Squirrel and John Muir

  "Floy filled the hours by talking to the family's pet parrot, balancing on a plank by the woodpile, making mud pies, and capturing frogs." - Not the typical activities for a young girl in the mid 1800s. Nicknamed "Squirrel" by her family for her antics in Yosemite Valley, Floy was definitely a tomboy and quickly latched on to her father's new handyman, the naturalist John Muir.  Squirrel and John Muir by Emily Arnold McCully is a fictionalized account of their meeting in 1868 when John Muir was hired.

In the story, Floy finds him fascinating.  She endlessly follows him, trying to gross him out with a lizard, trailing after him on his hikes, chasing after him in the snow, and watching him talk to the flowers or listen to the trees.  John Muir was someone else who didn't quite fit in with society's expectations and in him Floy finds a kindred spirit.  He helps Floy use a magnifying glass, teaches her the names of animals, birds and plants and takes her into the mountains where he was trying to find support for his theory that Yosemite Valley had been formed by glaciers.  While working for Hutchings, John Muir submits an article to a New York newspaper with his theory and more tourists begin to arrive leading to a confrontation between Muir and Hutchings and final goodbyes in the mountains overlooking Yosemite Valley with Floy.

John Muir lived in Yosemite Valley from 1868 to 1874 and he only worked for Hutchings for two years, but he left an indelible mark on the area, being instrumental in the creation of a National Park in 1890.  Yosemite Valley is now part of Yosemite National Park.   Squirrel and John Muir is a good introduction to the naturalist and the importance of following your dreams.

Floy's father, John Hutchings, organized the first tourist party to Yosemite Valley in 1855 and it's been a popular destination ever since.  There are a variety of lodging options from hotels to campgrounds and everything in between, but with 3,853,404 visitors in 2012, be sure to make your reservations early! Follow @Pattertravelers

Zoe Sophia's Scrapbook: An Adventure in Venice

 How many lion sculptures can you find in Venice? Zoe finds fifty-three, but she's sure there are more!  In Zoe Sophia's Scrapbook: An Adventure in Venice by Claudia Mauner and Elisa Smalley, Zoe Sophia is a nine year old New Yorker who, along with her dog, Mickey, travels to Venice to visit her great aunt.  Her adventures are chronicled in Zoe Sophia's Scrapbook from the time the plane leaves New York until her last night in Venice.

Interspersed with Italian words and phrases, it's a great introduction to a child's eye view of Venice.  Zoe compares and contrasts the differences (both good and bad) between her home in New York and Venice.  She's very enthusiastic about everything;  the vaporetta (boat bus) which makes her feel like a pirate princess, her Aunt's apartment which contains a Chagall, just like the Met in New York; her first breakfast, cornetti, which are kind of like croissants; and a visit to the Gallerie dell'Accademia where the artist Tiepolo liked purple as much as she does.  Over the next few days, her Aunt takes her to the Laboratorio Artigaiano Machere to buy a mask, on a walk over the Rialto bridge, and on a ride in a gondola.  After a very full and absolutely amazing few days, she discovers that her dog, Mickey has gotten lost in the shuffle and is missing!  Fortunately the gondolier finds him and he is returned safe and sound, along with a new friend, Aïda.  Much relieved, Zoe (and Mickey and Aïda) head off to the opera which was fantastico.  The next day the tour of Venice is back on and they head to Murano to see the glassblowing (which my son is dying to try).  Of course a trip to Venice isn't complete without a visit to the Piazza San Marco with a quick stop at Caffe Florian's (open since 1720) for a cup of hot chocolate and a last dinner at Quadri's before getting ready to leave for New York.

We enjoyed the way everything was relayed rather irreverently by Zoe as she enjoys her European adventure though my son said he would definitely rather explore Venice with us than with a great aunt! The question is, can he find more than 53 lion sculptures? Follow @Pattertravelers

Manjiro

 "No Japanese ship or boat. . .nor any native of Japan, shall presume to go out of the country; whoso acts contrary to this shall die."  -Tokugawa Shogunate pronouncement, 1638.   From 1641-1853, Japan cut itself off from the rest of the world with very limited trading.  The Japanese were not allowed to leave and if they did leave, they were not allowed to return.  In  Manjiro: The Boy Who Risked His Life for Two Countries by Emily Arnold McCully, fourteen year old Manjiro is working on a fishing boat just a few miles off shore.  All is well and there is no fear of the edict until a storm hits and the ship started to founders.

As Manjiro and the other fisherman try to head back to shore, they lose an oar and are at the mercy of the winds.  After eight days at sea, they land on a tiny rocky island.  The men discover a cave on the island,  home to hundreds of nesting albatrosses.  Food and shelter, but would they ever get off the island?  Will they ever get home?

Six months after they land, a huge ship comes into view.  Finally rescue! But the men on the boat speak a strange language and no one understood anything the other people said.  Manjiro was fascinated by the strange men.  He followed them all over the ship, trying to learn their language.  The captain, William H. Whitfield, gave Manjiro a slate with letters on it and he practiced writing.  He also learned to read a map and use a sextant, things he'd never seen before.  When the boat stopped at the port of Honolulu for supplies, the other fisherman asked to be left there to find jobs. But Manjiro was invited to continue with the ship to Massachusetts.

When they arrived in New Bedford, Massachussetts, Captain Whitfield took them to a church to say thanks, only to be told that Manjiro couldn't sit with him.  They left and found another church where they could sit together.  Manjiro was tutored in English and other subjects before being sent to school, but he still worried about his family.

He was determined to get back to Japan.  With Mrs. Whitfield's permission, he accepted a job as a steward on a boat.  He worked hard, but it still wasn't enough money to buy a vessel to get him to Japan.  In 1849, the California Gold Rush had started and determined to earn enough money, Manjiro headed for the gold fields.  In just 70 days, he managed to collect $600 worth of gold dust.  He returned to San Francisco and boarded a ship bound for the Sandwich Islands.  When he arrived in Honolulu two of his former shipmates were eager to join him in attempting to return to Japan.  What would happen in Japan?  Would they be allowed to return to their families?  Be put to death under the Shogunate pronouncement?  What would the Japanese officials think of everything they'd seen and done in America?  Would they even believe them?  You'll have to read the rest of the story to find out.

Manjiro is a well written story of an unusual period in history.  The illustrations are great at conveying everyone's emotions and the contrasts between Japan and the U.S. at the time.  Manjiro's travel report can be found in the Tokyo National Museum and there is a statute of him in Ashizuri-Uwakai National Park, near where Manjiro was born and shipwrecked. Follow @Pattertravelers

Mirette on the High Wire

 "One evening a tall sad-faced stranger arrived.  He told Madame Gâteau he was Bellini, a retired high-wire walker."  Imagine if you were a child living in a boarding house and someone arrived introducing themselves as "a retired high-wire walker."  They would seem like the most interesting person in the world!

The next day, as Mirette is doing the laundry, she sees him walking across the laundry line.  Mirette is enchanted and asks Bellini to please teach her how to walk the high-wire.  He refuses, so she tries to learn herself.  After a lot of falling, she is ready to show Bellini what she has accomplished and he agrees to teach her.  One evening,  Bellini's presence is noticed by a theater agent and the stories of Bellini's great feats come out.  But Bellini has stopped walking the high wire.  He is afraid.

Not wanting to disappoint Mirette, he decides to try one more act across the Paris skyline and he arranges with the agent to have a performance.  Mirette hears the commotion on the street and goes out to see the cause of the hubbub.  "Bellini stepped out onto the wire and saluted the crowd.  He took a step and then froze..."  Mirette is determined to help him, but what will she do and will it be enough?

My son loved  Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully and was very excited to read it again on several subsequent nights.  We loved the changing perspectives in the illustrations. You see Mirette trying to balance from the side, looking up from the ground as if you were in the audience, looking down at Bellini as if you were on the high wire.  You couldn't help but feel part of the story.  If you have a child working on conquering a fear, this is a great story of perseverance and the frustration on Mirette's face as she tries to learn to walk the high wire is very easy to relate to for anyone who has struggled to learn a new skill.  If you'd like to catch a traditional circus act while you're in Paris, try the Cirque d'Hiver Bouglione, a winter circus that has been performing since 1852. Follow @Pattertravelers

The Secret Cave: Discovering Lascaux

 Buried treasure, secret caves, -the perfect set up for an adventure during school holidays.   In this fictionalized retelling of the discovery of the Caves of Lascaux, Jaques, JoJo, and Simon are playing war games against the backdrop of World War II when an older boy, Marcel, tells them of a very deep hole his dog had fallen into the day before.  Marcel thinks it's the entrance to a secret tunnel with treasure buried by one of the nobles in the region.  Who could resist a search for buried treasure?  Abandoning their games, they follow Marcel to where he thinks the tunnel begins.

The entrance to the secret tunnel if big enough for a dog, but not for a person.  The boys take turns widening the hole until they can fit one by one.  Dropping down, they land in an entrance to a small tunnel and with the help of a few lanterns, start crawling along.  They're sure this must be the entrance to the count's tunnel, but when they get to the end they find not gold, but a large cave filled with wall paintings of animals that don't live in the region any more.  After they climb out, they promise to keep the caves secret, but before too long all of the village children have found out about their discovery and they all want a chance to see it.  After some debate, the boys finally decide to tell their teacher about the discovery, but initially he doesn't believe them and thinks they're trying to play a trick on him.  When he sees the caves he cannot believe his eyes and tells the boys that France's greatest expert on prehistoric art, the Abbot Henri Breuil, has fled occupied Paris and is staying nearby.   Abbot Breuil charges the boys with protection of the treasure and even in the midst of World War II, the discovery was reported in newspapers all over the world.

Based on anecdotal accounts, The Secret Cave: Discovering Lascaux by Emily Arnold McCully captures your imagination and sense of adventure and makes history come to life.  What child hasn't imagine making some sort of fabulous discovery?  The Caves of Lascaux are located in the Dordogne region in Southwestern France in the town of  Montingac.  Unfortunately, the actual caves have been closed to visitors in order to preserve them, but they have been recreated nearby in Lascaux II which you can go and see.  If you would like to see actual prehistoric paintings, try the Grotte Roffignac which is only 40 minutes or so west of Lascaux. Grotte Rouffignac is open to the public between Apri 1st and November 1, though the number of visitors is limited to 550 per day. Follow @Pattertravelers