Description ■ "For Columbus, the world beyond the wall was not something to fear, but a world to explore." A picture book filled with messages of exploration, discovery, challenge, and achievement. Peter Sís has illustrated the stories of visionaries who forged their own paths through innovative thinking in books such as Starry Messenger (Galileo Galilei), The Little Prince, and The Tree of Life. Columbus, too, was a man who nurtured his own dreams and pursued them through challenge and exploration. In Columbus's time, reaching the East meant traveling across dangerous overland routes, while the sea beyond was an unknown world. Yet Columbus resolved to cross the Atlantic in search of a new world. Most people thought his plan reckless, but he never lost faith and, after persistent effort, finally discovered the Americas. At the time, Columbus's discovery of the New World was a groundbreaking event that broke down the barriers surrounding Europe. Through the story of Columbus's voyage, Peter Sís teaches children the dream and courage to take on the impossible, the spirit of challenge in pursuing a goal, and the perseverance to achieve it without giving up. He also conveys his hope that children will discover the world's secrets, take on challenges, and think freely. ■ Columbus's Discovery of the New World, Reimagined by a Master Artist "A mesmerizing depiction of the discovery of the New World... even a bookshelf already packed with books about Columbus should make room for this one." -School Library Journal Peter Sís is a world-renowned master of picture books, having won the Caldecott Honor three times as well as prestigious awards such as the Hans Christian Andersen Award and the Bologna Ragazzi Award. He spent his childhood in a communist society tightly controlled amid the ideological divisions following World War II. Having grown up in a country surrounded by what was called the Iron Curtain—a kind of "wall"—he emigrated to the United States as an adult and settled there. This experience became the inspiration for his interest in Columbus's voyage and the creation of this book. Just as he himself had crossed a wall to discover the secrets of the world, he wished for children to explore new worlds as well. Peter Sís reconstructed Columbus's life through meticulous research and analysis. The book faithfully captures Columbus's upbringing, his trial voyages before crossing the Atlantic, the people he met while seeking patrons, and the process by which the King and Queen of Spain finally agreed to support him after twice refusing. It also vividly portrays the arduous journey to the discovery of the New World by quoting from the two ship's logs Columbus wrote to ease conflicts with his sailors. Follow the Dream combines the author's personal experience with a well-researched account of a great historical figure, teaching children about pivotal events in world history while inspiring dreams of adventure. ■ An Artistic Picture Book Blending 15th-Century World Maps with Fresco Techniques "Peter Sís's books are multilayered and full of astonishing details. Reading one of his works just once is like trying to see the entire Metropolitan Museum of Art in a single afternoon." -San Diego Tribune In Follow the Dream, Peter Sís achieves an innovative fusion by drawing on 15th-century world maps and painting techniques to bring a centuries-old historical figure into the present. He drew inspiration for this work from the medieval world map known as the 'Mappa Mundi.' Rather than reflecting practical geography, the Mappa Mundi conveyed a Christian worldview and incorporated elements of biblical stories. Columbus himself is said to have referenced the Mappa Mundi in his navigation. The illustrations in Follow the Dream feature borders filled with all manner of exotic landscapes, along with sea monsters and other symbolic imagery—all influences drawn from the Mappa Mundi. Beyond maps, Peter Sís also borrowed painting techniques popular in Columbus's era to bring his life to the page with greater realism. In the 15th century, the fresco technique—painting with water-soluble pigments on wet plaster walls—was widely popular. Fresco painting is applied to plaster before it fully dries, and as the plaster dries, the paint loses its sheen and the colors soften. Peter Sís preserved the traces of underpainting and used muted tones to capture the distinctive qualities of fresco murals...