Elizabeth: The story of the last Tudor Queen

Review also includes:

Christopher Columbus: The story of the intrepid Italian explorer, Martin Howard, 978-1408132654

Narrative history, we are told, is the way forward, and these two new additions to a biographical series will undoubtedly prove popular choices. Stylish covers with black backgrounds and spot varnishing catch the eye, but the jazzy typography is deemed too difficult to read by my junior reviewers. Meg Harper paints a convincing portrait of Elizabeth as a courageous and intelligent young princess, surviving the threats that surround her when her Catholic sister Mary succeeds her half-brother Edward. As Queen she proves to be a skilful politician, whether dealing with plotting courtiers or foreign suitors. The text is divided up into chapters, and further subdivided up into sections highlighting key dates such as ‘1554 Wyatt Revolt’, or ‘1555 Woodstock Palace’. Martin Howard recounts Columbus’s determination to find financial backing for his first voyage to what he thought would be Asia, having spent years navigation. He tells of the doubts that beset Columbus’s crews, _ the amazement at discovering land after a 2000-mile voyage and the hero’s welcome on his return to the Spanish court. After this things go downhill, with fighting breaking out in the Spanish fortress on Hispaniola, the native people succumbing to European diseases, and a fleet of other explorers arriving to lay claim to the spoils. Both books are fast paced, with plenty of convincing dialogue to bring the historical background to life. Both include an index, maps and in the case of Elizabeth | a family tree. Useful background reading for History at KS2.