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Geography: Traveling the World Through the Pages of a Book

By Rea Berg

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.Saint

Augustine

The ancient Greek, Strabo (c. 64 B.C.24 A.D.), is credited with writing the firstcomplete book of geography during the years that Augustus Caesar reigned as

emperor of the vast Roman Empire. Because travel was difficult in the ancient worldand the fact that most people, with the exception of merchants and sailors, rarely

traveled far from the homes of their birth, knowledge of the world was extremelylimited. However, with the reign of peace brought about under Augustus, Strabo

changed all that when he traveled extensively in what was then the known world. Hetraveled throughout Asia Minor, into Egypt to the border of Ethiopia, into Tuscany,

and to many other parts of Europe. In his Geographica, Strabo was the first to

combine the knowledge of the land and topography of regions with anthropologicalinformation, which proved invaluable to all future students of history, philosophy,

and science.

Strabos Geographica demonstrates the importance of travel in order to develop a

broad and informed knowledge of the world, its peoples, customs, and beliefs. Thenotion that travel expands us in good ways is summed up in Mark Twains maxim:

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness . . . . While this is aworthy goal and often desirable in youth, when responsibilities are few and freedom

is possible, travel is an option to any and all who simply open the pages of a goodbook. Indeed, it might be stated that by traveling extensively through literature, one

is truly prepared for the lessons of life one will meet in future far-flung places.

Holling Clancy Holling (19001973) was a childrens author who understood theimportance of literature and travel to inform his readers of the wonder of the natural

world. His most popular books created a new genre of childrens literaturethe geo-history. In these books, the travelers are not human but are creations of the authors

imagination. Holling understood how central the element of adventure was to hisaudience, so he created anthropomorphic1 characters that readers can identify with

a tiny Indian canoe, a lone cottonwood tree on the Great Plains, a baby snappingturtle, and an ivory birdcarved by a young sailor. By following their travels, readers

learn important facts of history, science, and geography painlessly.

Hollings most well known work is titled Paddle-to-the-Sea and is the story of anIndian boy who carves a tiny canoe with an Indian figure, which he names Paddle-to-

the-Sea. He inscribes these words on the bottom of the canoe: Please put me back

in water. I am Paddle to the Sea. The boy then places the canoe at the headwaters

of the Great Lakes, and it eventually follows the currents, tides, and winds thougheach of the Great Lakes, finally sailing to the Saint Lawrence River and out to theAtlantic Ocean.

The genius of this work is that in following the intrepid adventures of this tiny canoe,the reader learns all about the history, geography, ecology, and industry of the

majestic Great Lakes. Paddle not only survives a trip through a sawmill, a vast forestfire, and a fall over Niagara Falls, but he is also the object of care and kindness

offered by many human characters he encounters along the way. He also sojourns

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for some time in a marsh and a pond, and he passes through the giant locks of SaultSte. Marie. As befits his noble Indian character, the tiny passenger is always brave,

stoic, and undaunted.

In Tree in the Trail, the author creates an intriguing story around a youngcottonwood sapling growing up on the Great Plains, long before the white man

discovered these areas. Nurtured and protected by a young Kansas Indian, the treegrows to become a significant symbol for the Indian tribes: Kansas, Sioux, Pawnee,Comanche, and Dakota, who seek shelter in its shade and ascribe meaning to its

survival.

Detailed and lavish illustrations reveal the way of the life of the buffalo-hunting

tribes, including their customs and beliefs. Eventually Spanish conquistadores,French trappers, and then American frontiersmen pass by, each leaving a mark of

some kind upon the tree. The massive cottonwood tree is not only home and shelterto the wildlife of the area but is also the post office of lonely frontiersmen who

leave messages on it for the folks back home. This beautiful panorama of lifeencompassing a period of two hundred years is told with authenticity and warmth.

The tree is eventually struck by lightning and dies; it is then chopped down andmade into a yoke by frontiersmen traveling the Santa Fe Trail. Now, the tree thathad been rooted for so long is free to travel and discover the world of the wild, wild

West.

In Minn of the Mississippi, a baby snapping turtle hatches out of its protectiveshell at Little Elk Lake, Minnesota, one of the headwaters of the Ol Miss. It will

eventually travel a long and winding journey to the Gulf of Mexicomore than 2,500miles away. At just a tad over an inch long, the tiny snapper is vulnerable to hungry

crows, mischievous boys, and ravenous pickerel fishing for a tasty snack. Thesedangers prove nearly fatal for the little turtle, and though she manages to survive,

she does so minus one rear leg, shot off by a careless boy shooting at crows. Thus

begins the intrepid adventures of Minn, who, in the course of her travels, willencounter raccoons, minks, otters, muskrats, beavers, and a host of other river

creatures.

Minn will live in a river that has witnessed thousands of years of history, from theancient Indian Mound Builders to numerous American Indian tribes to frontiersmen of

French and American stripe to Civil War soldiers transported upon this watery

highway. Minn will encounter every conceivable mode of river transport and thevarious types of men and women who ply these waters. Minn will learn that this river

is ever changing its coursecarving, cutting, and creating new paths for itself whilewiping out and forever burying its past under layers and layers of mud.

In Seabird, a ships boy named Ezra is at watch on an eighteenth-century whaler

when the sudden uplift of a seagull in flight alerts him to a dangerous iceberg deadahead. The boys gratitude to the seabird for saving the ship from almost certain

destruction inspires him to carve an ivory seabird as a mascot for the ship and crew.This seabird travels the Seven Seas with Ezra as the crew seeks out the lucrative

whale, a source of oil, baleen, and spermaceti highly prized in that day.

For mates aboard a whaling ship, life is not only a traveling adventure; the pursuit ofwhales is also a deadly hair-raising challenge in itself. Ezra learns firsthand the

heart-stopping fear of a Nantucket sleigh ride, the terror and power of being high in

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the rigging during a raging storm South of the Line, and the tedious boredom of lifeat sea for years on end. But Ezra also experiences the azure beauty of the islands of

the South Seas, the exotic sights and sounds of Chinese ports, and the magnificenceof the earths largest living mammalthe whale.

The story ofSeabirdtraverses three generations of seamenEzra, his son Nate, and

his grandson Jim. In the course of their lives, the ships that ply the sea change fromthe seagoing whale ship to the swift and sleek merchant clipper ships to the coal-fired steamship. Seabird is handed down through these generations, a symbol of the

courage of those that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;

these see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.2

Holling Clancy Holling, along with his wife Lucille, have created an enduring literarylegacy for youthful adventurers who are still a bit young to take off on travels of their

own. His works have inspired generations of children to study geography, history,and the natural world and quite likely, later on, to throw on a travelers backpack

and see the world, proving the maxim of Emily Dickinson that

There is no Frigate like a BookTo take us Lands away . . . .3

Endnotes:1. An anthropomorphic character is an inanimate object, a plant or animal that has

been given human characteristics and qualities. This literary technique is often usedin childrens literature to enable young readers to identify with a particular creation

or character invented by the author.2. Psalm 107:2324.

3. Dickinson, Emily. Complete Poems. Accessed 29 December, 2011, atwww.poetryfoundation.org/poem/182908.

Rea Berg has homeschooled for more than twenty-five years and loves organicgardening, travel to historic sites, nineteenth century literature, and dance. Rea has

a B.A. in English from Simmons College and a graduate degree in childrensliterature. She has written numerous guides for studying history through literature

and has republished many classic childrens works. With her husband, she ownsBeautiful Feet Books (www.bfbooks.com) and can be emailed at rea@bfbooks.com.

She blogs about childrens literature at www.reaberg.com.

Copyright 2012, used with permission. All rights reserved by author. Originally

appeared in the March 2012 issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, the familyeducation magazine. Read the magazine free atwww.TOSMagazine.com or read it on

the go and download the free apps atwww.TOSApps.com to read the magazine onyour mobile devices.

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