Janis Herbert - Marco Polo for Kids: His Marvelous Journey to China, 21 Activities

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Herbert, Janis, 1956

Marco Polo for kids: his marvelous journey to China: 21 activities / Janis Herbert.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 1-55652-377-7

1. Polo, Marco, 12541323?JourneysChinaJuvenile literature. 2. ChinaDescription and travelJuvenile literature. 3. ChinaHistoryYuan Dynasty, 12601368Juvenile literature. [1. Polo, Marco, 12541323?Journeys. 2. Voyages and travels. 3. AsiaDescription and travel.] I. Title: His marvelous journey to China: 21 activities. II. Title.

G370.P9 H38 2001

915.0420dc21 2001017474

Cover and interior design: Joan Sommers Design, Chicago

The author and the publisher disclaim all liability for use of information contained in this book.

The author has made every effort to secure permissions for all material quoted in this book. If any acknowledgment has inadvertently been omitted, please contact the publisher.

2001 by Janis Herbert

All rights reserved

First edition

Published by Chicago Review Press, Incorporated

814 North Franklin Street

Chicago, Illinois 60610

ISBN 1-55652-377-7

Printed in Hong Kong by C & C Offset Company, Ltd.

5 4 3 2 1

Front cover: (upper left) The Great Wall of China, courtesy of Northwest Archives; (bottom left) The Polos leaving Venice, courtesy of Northwest Archives; (middle) Medieval Tartar huts and wagons, courtesy of Northwest Archives; (middle, bottom) Marco Polo lands at Ormuz, courtesy of Northwest Archives.

Back cover: (upper right) Caravan on the great highway of Central Asia, courtesy of Northwest Archives; (upper left) Frontispiece from Polos Voyages, published in Nuremberg, 1477, courtesy of Northwest Archives.

To Gregory, Johnny, Kate, and Sophie Pearl, with love

Index

This book was created with the generous assistance of Wafa Barakat, Marianne Coogan, Sara Dickinson, Olivia Lenny Hill, Debbie Lenny, Ruth and Don Ross, and Sarah Shaar. They have my warmest thanks for sharing their talent and expertise and for offering their encouragement. Thanks once again to designer Joan Sommers and to all of the people at Chicago Review Press. Special thanks are due to Cynthia Sherry for her enthusiasm and devotion to this project. Thanks, again and always, to Jeff for his unwavering support.

Many of the names and borders of countries have changed since Marco Polo made his famous journey. In this book, you will see the names of countries like Turkey, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan, but Marco might have called them by other names. The glossary on suggests some useful books.

Tell me, Marco, Rustichello begged, another story of your journey!

What would you hear next? Marco Polo asked his fellow prisoner. The days were long in prison, and telling the story of his travels helped them to pass a little faster. Should I tell you about the great Khans pet leopards and the magicians at his court? Or of the conquests of his ancestor, Genghis Khan? Would you like to hear about the Old Man of the Mountains or of the desert which takes a year to cross?

Why dont you start at the beginning this time, said Rustichello. I will write it all down, and make a book of your tale. Someday this book will be read the world over, and all shall know of the wonders you have seen. Marco smiled. They would never believe it, he thought.

For three years, Marco had been a prisoner of the Italian city of Genoa, since his ship had been captured in a battle between that city and his home, Venice. Before that, he had only been home for a year. From the time he was 15 years old until he was a man of 39, Marco had traveled to places no European had ever seen before.

With his father and uncle, he had sailed from Venice to the Holy Land. From there they had sailed to a trading port on the eastern Mediterranean Sea. He had traveled by caravan through vast deserts and over steep mountain ranges, stopping in exotic cities and humble villages, until he came at last to the palace of Kublai Khan in far-off China. For many years, Marco had been a favorite of the Khans and had traveled as his emissary in the far eastern lands. Finally, he had come home, accompanying a Mongol princess in a fleet of Chinese ships.

He would tell the story of his journeylet them believe him or not! He had seen an ancient land and learned much about its people. He would share his adventures, his millions of stories.

Speak slowly, said Rustichello. I want to get it all down.

The Polos leave Venice

M arco Polo had been waiting for this day forever! His father, Niccolo, and his Uncle Maffeo had finally returned from a journey many years long. The boy had been only six when his father and uncle had left their home in Venice. Now Marco was 15! In those nine years, he had grown nearly to manhood. He had studied hard, so he could help his father with his business. When he was not studying, he spent his days wandering around Venices busy wharves, where traders brought ships loaded with silks and spices, dyes, salt, and wool. Marcos mother had died during his childhood, making him doubly glad for his fathers safe return. Now he listened to his father and uncle tell the story of their journey, a story that made Marco thrill with excitement.

Niccolo and Maffeo were successful merchants of luxury goods in the western worlds center of trade, Venice. The aim of their long journey had been to establish ties of trade with the new rulers of the lands east of the Mediterranean Sea. The people of Europe were hungry for such exotic goods such as the silks and spices that trickled to their ports from distant lands to the east. The two Polo brothers, with trunks full of jewels to trade, had sailed to the Black Sea to visit the court of a wealthy ruler. Trading was good, and they stayed for a year. When they wished to return to Venice, however, they found that war raged across their route. Cut off from home, they decided to continue their journey in another direction.