Title: On the Silk Road with Marco Polo
Author: Dr. Barbara ten Brink
Publisher: Barbara ten Brink
ISBN: 9798852901385
Pages: 87
Genre: Historic / Biography
Reviewed by: Carol Davala

Read Book Review

In Dr. Barbara ten Brink’s book On the Silk Road with Marco Polo, young adult readers have the opportunity to uniquely experience the prolific travels of this renowned explorer from the perspective of his own writings. Along with ten Brink’s extensive research, the story highlights Polo’s 24-year journey with fascinating revelations about his visits to foreign shores, and his encounters with other cultures and new technologies. While many had dismissed Polo’s tales of adventure which included situations of great risk and dealings with disease, storms, wild animals, piracy, and even cannibalism, history has proven his accounts to be true.

Born into a Venice merchant family in the mid-13th century, Polo clearly developed a sense of wanderlust. At the age of 15 he joined his father and uncle on a journey to China covering 15,000 miles. As silk was a highly coveted trade good, the network of routes they traveled became known as the Silk Road. Dangers and atrocities were an expected part of these travels, but intelligence served to anticipate and help avoid the many warring states and paths.

Dr. ten Brink provides quality background information relative to Polo’s ultimate destination within the Mongol Empire and with the ruling Khan dynasty. While Polo’s father and uncle had established a working relationship in the area during their earlier travels, the young Polo was smart enough to learn the language and become familiar with the customs. Quickly he became a confidant of the Great Kublai Khan. Serving in Khan’s court, Polo investigated the various people, cultures, and customs of the places he visited while sent out on diplomatic missions wherein afterwards he would report back to Khan.

From the use of war elephants in battle, and maintaining horses as revered possessions; to the varying trains of thought about women and their role in society, i.e., domestic roles vs. hunter/warrior; to the wealth and lavish lifestyles he witnessed, Polo journaled about his findings. In 1291 Polo headed back to Venice. While he apologizes for the lack of details about his return trip, the snippets he offers should entice audiences for further exploration.

Throughout the book’s 12 chapters, a handful of color illustrations compliment the narrative with simple visual appeal. These range from the Mongolian warriors and the tack used for their horses, to images of the Great Genghis Khan and his grandson Kublai Khan, to the impressive fleet of ships arranged for Polo’s travels.

For those using the book in a classroom or educational setting, Dr. ten Brink creatively provides a list of activities within the final pages, to help readers engage with the narrative. The suggestions range from writing a journal entry for Marco Polo or a letter persuading him to take you along on his travels, to drawing maps or illustrating events within the story. Those interested in further research should benefit from the chapter footnotes and bibliography included at book’s end. Here several maps also help to visualize the various empires noted throughout the Silk Road story.

Dr. ten Brink explains that her own teachers had often presented the history of the great explorers with much enthusiasm. Clearly in her intent to continue that experience of sharing the knowledge of such captivating, historic individuals, her choosing to explore the life of Marco Polo through his own voice and point of view prove an enlightening format which delivers an informative, entertaining, and engaging biographic read.