Magellan Sets Sail

On this day in 1519, Ferdinand Magellan set out to find a new route to the Spice Islands. It was on this trip that he became the first European to discover, and successfully navigate the Straits of Magellan and then sail across the Pacific from the Americas to Asia. We hav e abit of a grab bag today on books to mark the day...

    

Overboard by Elizabeth Fama. Emily is off the coast of Sumatra when her ferry sinks. She finds an Indonesian boy floating in the water and together they try to make it to land as many of the other passengers drown. Based on a true story. (I'm including it because Spice Islands = Indonesia.)

Lost Childhood: My Life in a Japanese Prison Camp During World War II by Annelex Hofstra Layson. Annalex was 4 in 1942, living in the Dutch East Indies when the Japanese invaded and sent Dutch people to an internment camp. She spends the next years in depravation and hell and the end of the war doesn't end the hardship.

Fledgling by Mark A. Cooper. Jason has no mother and a distant father, and joins the Sea Cadets-- a military training program for children. But something goes horrible wrong off the coast of Java and most of the other cadets are massacred, leaving only Jason to save a secret mission. Follow it with Revenge.

  

Spice: The History of a Temptation by Jack Turner. We have longed for spice, lusted for it, and this desire has driven exploration, economies, wars, and politics. Written for adults, this is one older teens will like.

Into the Unknown: How Great Explorers Found Their Way by Land, Sea, and Air by Stewart Ross. Beautifully designed and illustrated, this book details the careers and historic voyages of several explorers, including modern ones.

What books would you add? Anything from Indonesia?

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