The immensely talented Demi, whose many picture-book biographies include such titles as Joan of Arc, Tutankhamun, Alexander the Great and Marco Polo, turns here to the story of Christopher Columbus, the Geonoese sailor whose voyage in 1492 ushered in a new era of contact between Europe and the Americas. Demi explores Columbus' life story, from his birth in 1451 to a family of weavers, through his early years as a sailor; from his efforts to get some European monarch to fund an exploratory voyage westward, in search of the (east) Indies, to his various voyages after his landfall on San Salvador on October 12th, 1492. Continually convinced that he was close to discovering the passage to Asia, and always wanting gold, he convinced Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain to fund many voyages, and although he did not succeed in either aim, his conviction that one could travel westward from Europe changed the course of human history...

Today, as I write this review of Columbus, it is Columbus Day, marking the 528th year since modern contact was made between the peoples of Europe and those of the Americas. It is a holiday that has become controversial of late, dividing opinion between those who feel we should not celebrate the day, given the disastrous consequences that first contact had for the native peoples of this hemisphere, and those who believe that, however flawed the man, he did achieve something unprecedented in human history, and laid the groundwork for the modern world we know today. Some cities have replaced Columbus Day with an 'Indigenous Peoples' Day,' while other communities continue to honor the great explorer. Complicating the matter is the fact that Columbus Day has become intertwined with Italian-American identity in many quarters, and is one of the few moments in the national calendar when this community is honored and remembered. For my part, I have little sympathy with the cultural and historical vandalism currently consuming the (so-called) left, but also have no interest in whitewashing history. I tend to believe that historical achievements should be remembered and honored, even when those who achieved them were far from perfect, recalling that old phrase that "we see further than our ancestors because we stand on their shoulders." With that in mind, and given my all-consuming interest in children's literature, I decided to read and review a number of different picture-book biographies of Christopher Columbus, as a means of marking the day. The titles I chose include David A. Adler's A Picture Book of Christopher Columbus (1991), Peter Sís' Follow the Dream: The Story of Christopher Columbus (1991) and Demi's Columbus (2012).

Demi's Columbus is the last of the three that I have read, and it is the most informative. The author attempts to walk a middle line between the two poles of thought concerning Columbus, acknowledging the man's great accomplishments, while also exploring the terrible things he and his men (both with and without his permission and knowledge) did to the native peoples of the Caribbean. For the most part I think she is successful, although I was stopped in my tracks by her statement that syphilis was brought to the new world by Europeans, as this is by no means the historical consensus. While some do hold that view, my understanding is that most evidence points to it being the other way around: while Europeans brought diseases like smallpox with them to the Americas, they brought diseases like syphilis back with them to Europe, from the Americas. This was a very odd mistake on Demi's part, I thought! Leaving that issues aside, this was an informative and educational book, and Demi's artwork is absolutely gorgeous! Perhaps this could be paired with Peter Sís' Follow the Dream: The Story of Christopher Columbus for a more balanced view of the subject. The Demi titles emphasizes the historical record, while the Sís emphasizes just how groundbreaking Columbus' thinking and actions were. Because of some of the subject matter, I would not recommend this one to very young children, but think it would make an admirable work on its eponymous subject for picture-book readers age seven and above. ( )