The Age of Exploration: Totally Getting Lost

Epic Fails #4

by Ben Thompson, Erik Slader, Tim Foley (Illustrator)

Christopher Columbus is one of the most famous explorers of all time, but he was neither the first nor last adventurer to ever stumble upon a great discovery. From the Silk Road of Asia to the icy shores of Antarctica, our knowledge of the world today is in large part due to several intrepid pioneers, risking life and limb for the sake of exploration. After all, setting off into the dark unknown requires an enormous amount of bravery. But every explorer quickly learns that courage and curiosity aren’t enough to save you if you can’t read a map or trespass on somebody else’s land!

In this fourth installment of the Epic Fails series, authors Erik Slader and Ben Thompson introduces readers to an international cast of trailblazers and details every mutiny, wrong turn, and undiscovered city of gold behind the age of exploration.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Middle Grade, Humor

160 pages, Paperback

First published April 16, 2019

About the author

I write stuff about badasses.

Reviews

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good information and humor rolled into one enjoyable little book.

[Gina Schaarschmidt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book because I am one of those people who can't find their way out of a paper bag. I have worked at my school for 5 years and still end up going the wrong way down the hall. Stairwells in buildings spin me around like I'm playing pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey. So I was ready for some kindred spirits in the chapters. I did not.

The explorers certainly experienced failure, some of it epic. But, while the stories are told in a fun, conversational manner and through engaging bites of history, the subtitle did not deliver. I will recommend it to out social studies teachers and kids who might be reluctant readers of non-fiction history.

[Kory T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic, bite-sized chunks of history that will definitely keep you entertained on the toilet, during short breaks, or while waiting for coffee or pasta to heat.

Each snippet holds just enough information to learn something new without imposing any political view or becoming pedantic.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a long-time lover and student of history, I was already familiar with much of this book's contents. But for middle grade readers who think they HATE history, this book will change their minds. With its blended authorial voices and a wryly engaging slant, the short chapters never leave readers bored. Because the focus here is on the Age of Exploration when Europeans had no idea what lay out there beyond their continent, the perspective is that of the western world, starting with Leif Erikson's exploration of North America and concluding with Dr. David Livingston's attempts to find out where the Nile River begins. What I particularly enjoyed about this book is how the authors tackle the good, the bad, and the ugly in exploration, describing many of the mistakes made by these early explorers as well as their egregious actions. Who knew that getting lost or being so misguided could lead to so much enjoyment for readers as well as an expansion of the worldview of those these men were representing? I also appreciated how the authors are quick to point out the gains and the losses that resulted from this exploration.

[Lorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ten tales of exploring expeditions that didn’t exactly go as planned, but still broke new ground and contributed to new knowledge about our geography in a book that makes history cool for kids (and adults too!). Some of the events and explorers might be things the reader might have heard of like Christopher Columbus, but others might be new to them like the travels of Zheng-He were to this reviewer. The writing is extremely accessible with short chapters, often humorous black and white illustrations, and photographs that will appeal to kids whether they had a prior interest in history or not.

This book is the 4th book in an Epic Fails series that features other historical topics and the author also runs a popular Epik Fails in History blog. Book extras include a table of contents, a timeline, a bibliography of websites and books for further information, and an index.

I would recommend this book for purchase by any school or public library.
This book was provided by the publisher for professional review by SWON Libraries.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 3 out of 5]

Epic Fails: The Age of Exploration: Totally Getting Lost by Erik Slader and Ben Thompson, 148 pages. Roaring Brook Press (Macmillan), 2019. $17.

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: G.

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Moving chronologically through global exploration and focusing primarily on early water travel, this is the story of all the ways famous explorers erred. Starting with the Vikings and their treks based out of Greenland, and ending with Dr. Livingston’s obsession over finding the mouth of the Nile River in Africa, this book covers 10 different expeditions and their leaders.

It seems that the authors did not have to work too hard to find the errors of early explorers and this is complex because one purpose of this series is to show that mistakes are a part of learning and growing, but on the flip side we certainly do not want to excuse or explain away the oppression and cruelty of many early explorers. The book really did not address this duality and read more like a history book.

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christopher Columbus was not the first person to discover the Americas, and once he did, the age of exploration was far from over. The first recorded discovery of North America was made by the Viking Leif Erikson. From then on, many explorations would follow. These explorations were far from perfect. There were mutinies and wrong turns, dangerous people and bad weather. It would be many centuries of mess-ups before we developed the map we have today.

This book is written in an informal voice that makes it easy for children to read and understand. It starts with a short description of what it would have been like to travel with Christopher Columbus. After that, it gives a chronological history of important geographic discoveries. The book mostly focuses on things that went wrong with exploration, which gives it a light and humorous tone. The imagery is great, encouraging the stories told in the book to play out like a cartoon in the reader’s head. The text is accompanied by illustrations, some of which are historical pictures, others cartoon drawings. The book has a unique take on history and would be a great tool in getting children excited to learn about the past.

*Contains mild violence

++Review originally published on Children's Book and Media Review++
http://byucbmr.com/reviews/epic-fails...

[Beth Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best read alouds for us this year. We started out just reading a chapter a day but quickly read two or three some days because they were so interesting. Really well written, funny without being ridiculous, and just brimming with educational value. I think the author did a great job highlighting the good and the bad of each explorer, encouraging the reader to think through history. The final paragraphs were really powerful and the perfect culmination of the entire book.

[Millennial Book Review · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was funny overall, and the authors did a fantastic job of telling the stories of each exploration without becoming boring or putting some kind of political spin on the story. A good book to read if you're interested in learning some random snippets to share with friends.

[KayKay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book offers a good introduction of some the famous explorers to my 6th grader while it helped me to refresh memories of some of the people I knew very little about. A fun and quick read that I highly enjoyed. I wish there are more book in the Epic Fails series.

[Hansen Zhang · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good picture of history, depicting the failed expeditions of Earth.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book aloud to all three boys and learning more facts about the early world explorers. Funny and informative, it makes for exciting reading.

[Patrick Trent · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tells of some of the mishaps of early explorers.

[Randy Tramp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting history.

[Christy Gould]

Funny, succinct overview. Great for middle grade.

[Sadie · Rating 3 out of 5]

We liked the brief histories, but could have done without surfer-dude style writing.