Thursday, December 29, 2016

Gunderson, Jessica. Passage to Fortune: Searching for Seguenay.

Gunderson, Jessica.  Passage to Fortune: Searching for Seguenay.  Capstone Publishers   2017  48p  $21.99   ISBN 978-1-5157-1866-6          elem            Series: Discovering The New World   Historical fiction  VG 

This work of historical fiction is written well but simply, as readers learn about what life was like both aboard ship and amongst the natives during one of the earlier European occupations of North America; this one by Jacques Cartier. Point of view is clearly presented, whether through the eyes of crewmen aboard ship, dinner parties among French patricians, native Americans trading with the new peoples on their shores, and the young people of each. As an accompanying work for a series of nonfiction titles about Discovering the New World, this is a fictionalization of what is presented in each of the other books in the set. This book concludes with a page titled “Making Connections” where there are thoughtful questions for class discussion, and a glossary.

As a part of the Discovering the New World Series, a set complete in four titles, this book represents the historical fiction component that encapsulates information from the three nonfiction titles in the series in story setting. This type of series is sure to find an audience with teachers who teach across subject areas in their curriculum, or for teacher teams doing the same.  Recommended for inclusion in elementary library collections where exploration is a part of the curriculum and ideal for classroom libraries. Probably best purchased as a set with the nonfiction titles.
                       
Summary: Passage to Fortune is the story of a young teen from a titled family in 16th-century France, who stows away on a ship to the “New World” to find fame and fortune.

New World Exploration-Fiction                                                                                 --Lynn Fisher  

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