Fiction About Columbus and His Times
For the Elementary Grades

     As promised, here are some stories from the fiction section that will enrich your understanding of Columbus and his times.   The books are fun and exciting to read even if you aren’t doing it to learn things about him.  Of course some parts of the stories aren’t true, but if you have already done some research on Columbus before you begin, you will notice that the authors have used many true details in their stories, especially ones that are found in Columbus’s log of his first voyage.  As I said in the non-print resource part of this bibliography, the Medieval Sourcebook has a modern English translation of the log.  You can look at it here: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/columbus1.html.

 For Grades K-2

In 1492 - written by Jean Marzollo; pictures by Stteve Bjorkman – 30 pages.

     This is a picture book with a rhyme about Columbus’ first voyage based on that one I’m sure you’ve heard: “Columbus sailed the ocean blue in fourteen hundred ninety-two.”  The pictures are both beautiful and fun, and will give you some ideas about the feelings Columbus and his sailors must have had sailing off to places nobody knew about.

All Pigs on Deck – written by Laura Fischetto; pictures by Letizia Galli – 30 pages.

     This picture book talks about Columbus’ second voyage more than about his first one.  On the second he brought people, animals, and supplies to start a new colony.  The book describes how much trouble the pigs were on the ship, and how many of the ways people did things in Spain just did not work in the part of the New World they were trying to settle.  The words and the colorful pictures are part funny, part serious.  Why do you think the drawn characters sometimes lean at such weird angles?

For Grades 1-6  (To read or have read aloud)

The Boy Who Sailed With Columbus – story and pictures by Michael Foreman - 71 pages. 

      This story has a lot of words, but it also has some very beautiful watercolor illustrations.  It follows the life of an orphaned boy from Norway who goes on Columbus’ first voyage, describing the difficult trip and the interaction with the natives when they arrive.  Leif is taken prisoner when Fort Navidad is destroyed.  He is protected and taught by a traveling medicine man, and he becomes such a leader among Native Americans.  As an adult and a father, he reacts from their point of view as Europeans arrive in North America.

Morning Girl – written by Michael Dorris – 74 pages.

     This short novel won the Scott O’Dell award.  A native girl talks about her island life, among her family and her tribe.  Every other chapter provides her brother’s point of view.  The native way of life and beliefs described will probably seem very different from your own.  As white people arrive at the end of the book, some idea of how the life of the natives will change is provided by an actual entry from Columbus’ log.

He Went With Christopher Columbus – written by Louise Andrews Kent – 318 pages.

     This is a long exciting novel about a boy who is in danger because older relatives wish to steal his inheritance.  You could read just parts of the book if you wanted to.  The first six chapters set the story and describe life in England, Spain, and on a ship.  Columbus’ first voyage is included next, but it only fills two chapters.  Chapters nine through sixteen describe the first interactions between the Europeans and the natives, and the boy’s life as he grows up as a well-treated captive of a peaceful tribe.  The last eight chapters describe his life as the slave of white men who think he is an Indian, and his return at last to England.

For Grades 3-6

Encounter – written by Jane Yolen; pictures by David Shannon – 26 pages.

     This book is in picture book style, but the story is sad, and the illustrations that go with it are mostly dark and somewhat frightening.  It focuses on a native boy who has a foretelling dream and as a result recognizes the dangers of the Europeans when they arrive, but of course no one listens because he is just a boy.  He is one of the Indians forced to the ships for the return journey to Spain, but he escapes, and still the people do not listen.  On the last page, he speaks as an adult, with the sad knowledge that the life he once knew has disappeared.

For Grades 4-6

The Admiral and the Deck Boy – written by Genevieve A. O’Connor – 168 pages.

     This story is about a very short eleven-year old boy who desperately wants to go to sea, and finally succeeds as the apprentice of a carpenter who is forced to join Columbus’ first crew.  The boy has trouble with other crewmembers, and is involved in the sinking of the Santa Maria, but other than that, the story tends to be told from a positive and very European point of view, ending as Columbus sails back toward Spain. The book includes easily understood maps and labeled drawings, and rather than define sailing and other terms within the text, the words are in bold text and appear in a glossary.

The Gold of Dreams – written by Jose Maria Merino; translated by Helen Lane – 217 p.

     This is a translation of a novel written by a Spanish author.  Though you may think the story is just OK, it will give you an idea what life was like in the New World not that long after Columbus arrived.  Sixteen year-old Miguel’s conquistador father has been killed, and he lives with his Indian mother, but is taught by a Spanish priest.  He, his godfather, the priest, and a young Spanish friend join a 200-man expedition searching for a Mexican temple of gold.  The group has many problems, and there are some surprises that change Miguel’s life.  The story makes clear the large part that Spanish greed and religion played in shaping life at that time, including how native customs and beliefs had to be given up or kept secret.

For Mature Readers

Freedom Beyond the Sea – written by Waldtraut Lewin; translated by Elizabeth D.

     Crawford – 262 pages.

     Although this is a wonderful well-written story, and it is not difficult to read, you might not want to because the main character describes her horrible memories of the cruel deaths of family and friends, and also talks about her confusion as she experiences the beginnings of a sexual attraction to Columbus.  Esther is a sixteen year-old girl who disguises herself as a boy and joins the crew of the Santa Maria to escape persecution as a Jew in the Spanish inquisition.  She becomes a valued assistant to Columbus, but as a result receives unwanted and dangerous attention from several directions, and must leave the crew in the Canary Islands rather than journey across the ocean as she had planned.