Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 3-5. This history of the Lost Colony is more than a simple tale of settlers who disappeared, leaving a cryptic message behind. Fritz weaves the tangled threads of historical records, the multiple voyages, and the large cast of significant figures into a single narrative that enables children to envision the main events as well as many colorful details. The presentation is surprisingly traditional in some ways, from a Eurocentric reference to America as the newfound land to the anecdote (undocumented, as the appended notes acknowledge) about Sir Walter Raleigh's laying his coat across a puddle for Queen Elizabeth. In four chapters, Fritz discusses the English exploration of the region, the settlement on Roanoke Island, the mysterious disappearance of the colonists, and the conjectures, hoaxes, and evidence that have fueled speculation about the colony for 400 years. The fluid, expressive watercolors enhance the writing by using styles that reflect Talbott's research into the paintings of John White and sixteenth-century portrait artists as well as more romantic, imaginative interpretations of people and events. Notes and a bibliography are appended. --Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2004 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Previously teamed for Leonardo's Horse, Fritz and Talbott now focus on the complicated, still-elusive story of English exploration off the Virginia coast in the 1580s. Studded with facts, anecdotes and historical asides, Fritz's rapid-fire account sets the scene at Queen Elizabeth's court, where Walter Raleigh's friend uses his "show stone" to look into the future and predict that the English would find, hidden behind a long cape, an island where they could settle ("later to be called Roanoke"). The action moves quickly from the successful preliminary exploratory voyage to the disastrous initial expedition of 500 men sent to form a colony; if readers skip even one sentence, they will be lost. Most of the time, fortunately, the writing will compel attention, especially when Fritz focuses on the English policy toward supposedly hostile Indians-"smite them hip and thigh"-and its possible consequences for the second colony, where Virginia Dare was famously born and, along with 114 others, disappeared into oblivion. A concluding section helps the audience assess theories about the fate of the settlers and grapple with a more searching question: "This is not only a mystery; it is a tragic story. And who is to blame for the tragedy?" Talbott's detailed watercolors feature miniature portraits of the principals as well as dramatic, sprawling scenarios. While the dense presentation is not ideally suited to the short format, middle-school readers who are up to a challenge will come away with both a deeper appreciation of a historical mystery and a fuller awareness of how historians sift it for clues and interpretations. Ages 7-up. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-This fluidly written account describes the colony founded under the aegis of Sir Walter Raleigh in 1585. The opening section, "Looking," discusses the first attempt at settling the island and highlights the English policy regarding the Native population: "Never turn the other cheek" and "smite [hostile Indians] hip and thigh." When harsh conditions caused the men to return to England in 1586, 15 individuals were left behind to hold the colony. "Settling" describes how the second expedition arrived in 1587 and found the men gone, perhaps victims of the "hip and thigh" policy. The travails of these settlers began on landing and continued unabated until Governor John White agreed to sail to England to get help. "Lost" details White's frustrated attempts to get back to Virginia, and what he found when he finally returned two years later. In the final chapter, Fritz explores various theories about Roanoke's fate. She discusses the 1937 hoax involving stones with counterfeited inscriptions as well as current archaeological and historical exploration. Talbott's softly colored watercolor illustrations, ranging from cameo insets to two-page paintings, are at once detailed and impressionistic. Clever touches of humor abound. This book is superior to existing works such as Dan Mabry Lacy's The Lost Colony (Watts, 1972; o.p.). Fritz has scored again, making history breathe while showing both historians and archaeologists at their reconstructive best.-Ann Welton, Grant Elementary School, Tacoma, WA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
(Intermediate) In 1587, about a hundred men, women, and children left England to colonize Roanoke Island, off the coast of what is now North Carolina. After they were settled, their governor, John White, left the colonists to go back to England for supplies; when he returned, he found the colony abandoned. The first three sections of Fritz and Talbott's latest collaboration provide background for understanding this historical mystery. ""The Finding"" covers early exploration of the coastal tidewater, ""Settling"" establishes the colony, and ""Lost"" deals with White's return to Roanoke and his search for the settlers. A lot of individuals populate this drama, including Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Richard Grenville, Simon Fernandez, Manteo, Wigina, and Eleanor Dare, not to mention an English queen (Elizabeth) and king (James), and a famous buccaneer (Sir Francis Drake). Talbott's delicate spot-art portraits give each player a face, and Fritz attaches distinctive personalities (Dare was a bit of a social climber, the Portuguese navigator Fernandez an inept and unpleasant leader, and Manteo an Anglophile) to those images. Larger illustrations provide opportunities for children to pause while reading the brisk narrative (""Ralph Lane would give the orders, especially orders about what to do in case they ran into hostile Indians. Never turn the other cheek, they were told. No, they should smite such people. Smite them hip and thigh. Smite them to death, if need be"") to peruse maps, diagrams, and setting. These illustrations also allow children to make related observations, such as that settlers came to this harsh land fully dressed for the Elizabethan court. The final section, ""Clues,"" details the process of determining the fate of the colonists. Explanatory notes, an index, and a bibliography round out the account. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
In 1585, Queen Elizabeth and Sir Walter Raleigh supported an English settlement on Roanoke Island, between Cape Hatteras and Virginia. Every country wanted a piece of America, for the riches it contained. But this settlement vanished, and it has been a 400-year-old mystery as to why it disappeared and what happened to the colonists. It's a "hole right at the very beginning" of American history. Fritz doesn't pretend to solve the mystery, but she ably presents the history behind the failed attempt at establishing an English colony in the New World. The bibliography is small, but the maps are helpful. Lively storytelling, attractive watercolor illustrations, archaeological details, and a survey of theories make this a fascinating volume and an important resource on this period of early colonization. The history-as-mystery format will appeal to young historians. (author's note, index) (Nonfiction. 8+) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
