Traveling Man: The Journey of Ibn Battuta, 1325-1354

Maybe 25 pages (?) of stylized artwork and 4 paragraphs of text?? I was looking for THE BOOK THE GUY WHO TRAVELED WROTE!! What the hell is this rip off i just bought?? A kiddie book?? "I walked to egypt. Almost got ate by a crocodile." What the $@&/ is that!!??

We thoroughly enjoyed this book. Beautiful illustrations with such moving quotes. My kids and I love this book and strongly recommend it.

This stunning work is so well executed that it introduces young readers to geography, intellectual curiosity, and Islam in one short text. The integration of art, mapping, and narration feeds the hungry mind with something other than a Eurocentric view of the world. Well done!

This is a wonderful book for a child, or for an adult with an eye for the lovely art that graces it. For the adult, it will lead inevitably to a more adult account of Ibn Battuta's travels -- and a hint at all the history that is out there that we don't get in our high school text books!

This is an excellent book for kids and adults alike! It's one of my son's favorite - he is enthralled by Ibn Battuta's adventures and likes to look at the beautiful illustrations. The Arabic script also makes this book interesting; it's not often that one comes across this sort of writing here. For me, it is a simple introductory of a man that I have heard of, but had not known much else. I wish this man is as famous as Marco Polo!

What you, as the reader of this and all Jim's books, don't know is that Mr. Rumford has lived, studied and worked in many of the places where his stories take place. He is a linguist, an historian, and an artist. So while this tale and his other stories may seem fictional, the element of realism is very strong. He not only reads and speaks these languages, he has studied how they are written--and seeing the embelishments in this story, you wonder. These symbols are real and accurate, produced by a true Renaissance man.

"In the days when the earth was flat and Jerusalem was the center of the world, there was a boy named Ibn Battuta." So begins Traveling Man, the eloquent story of a fourteenth century, Moroccan man's 75,000 mile, worldwide expedition. Heading first to Egypt, then on to Jerusalem, and Arabia to Mecca. He then traveled across the steppes of Asia to India, the Maldives, and on to China, thought at the time to be the end of the world, before finally, after 29 years, returning home again. Once home, Ibn Battuta told a court scribe about his journey and many adventures, and this written record is the basis for James Rumford's remarkable and mesmerizing story. His lyrical and engaging text is full of imagery, mystery, and magic, and complemented with elegant, creative, and vivid, artwork, done in hues of gold, red and blues. Together word and art transports the reader to a long ago place and time, on an amazing and fantastic journey. A glossary, afterword, and detailed map at the end, provides additional information to further enlighten and enhance the experience. Perfect for youngsters 8-12, Traveling Man is an evocative masterpiece that shouldn't be missed. As Ibn Battuta wrote..."Traveling - it offers you a hundred roads to adventure, and gives your heart wings!"