Leo, Dog of the Sea

by Alison Hart, Michael G. Montgomery (Illustrator)

Overview

A hardened old sea dog joins Magellan's journey to the Spice Island.

After three ocean voyages, Leo knows not to trust anyone but himself. But in 1519 he sets sail with Magellan on a journey to find a westward route to the Spice Islands. Slowly, he begins to develop new friendships with the ship's scribe, Pigafetta, and Marco, Magellan's page.

Together, the three of them experience hunger and thirst, storms and doldrums, and mutinies and hostile, violent encounters. Will they ever find safe passage?

The Dog Chronicles series features fast-paced, fascinating historical fiction about working dogs, perfect for readers who love books.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781682630891
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	02/05/2019
Series:	Dog Chronicles
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 7.40(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

When Alison Hart was seven years old, she wrote, illustrated, and self-published a book called The Wild Dog. Since then, she's authored more than sixty books for young readers. A former teacher, she lives in Virginia.

Michael G. Montgomery attended Georgia Southern University and the University of Georgia and has created illustrations for magazines, books, newspapers, and advertising. The illustrator of several books for children, he lives in Georgia.

Editorial Reviews

★ "Frank history, attention to factual detail, and vivid adventures make this a standout."—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

From the Publisher

★ 2017-02-04
Magellan's 16th-century circumnavigation of the globe is told through the eyes of a ship's dog in this latest installment of the middle-grade Dog Chronicles.Originally unnamed, just prodded to catch rats on sailing ships, the dog Leo is wary of humans and resolutely a loner. Then he meets Marco, an orphaned Spanish boy who has stowed away on the Trinidad, Magellan's flagship, as Magellan begins his historic voyage to find a westward passage to the Spice Islands (now the Malukas, in modern-day Indonesia). It is Marco and Pigafetta, an Italian scribe who is aboard to chronicle the voyage, who name Leo after the dog saves Marco's life. Remarkably rich in factual details, Hart's accomplished narrative, told in first-person present-tense by Leo, animates the hardships endured—and courage needed—to sail into the literal unknown, threading them throughout Leo's personal journey of learning to trust. Montgomery's spot pencil illustrations enliven the narrative. Of particular note, Magellan's cruelty, arrogance, and thirst for glory are not whitewashed, as Leo describes him ordering the destruction of indigenous villages because they refuse to convert to Christianity or swear allegiance to King Charles of Spain. A lengthy author's note gives the facts behind the story and is vividly interesting in itself as a chronicle of 16th-century European knowledge and shipboard life. Frank history, attention to factual detail, and vivid adventures make this a standout. (bibliography, further reading.) (Historical fiction. 7-12)

Kirkus Reviews