A World Full of Journeys & Migrations
Martin Howard and Christopher Corr
Frances Lincoln Children’s Books

Migration has been very much in the news for the past several years with stories of people fleeing wars in Syria and Afghanistan, overcrowded and flimsy craft undertaking hazardous crossings of the Mediterranean and the English Channel and refugees attempting to cross land borders of eastern European countries to reach the European Union. This book chronicles that migration is not a recent phenomenon but something that began 70,000 years ago when the first people started to spread out from Africa to inhabit the whole globe.

Author Martin Howard and illustrator Christopher Corr explore some fifty instances through history, continent by continent covering a large variety of relevant topics. These include navigational journeys of discovery by Marco Polo and Christopher Columbus, as well as Thor Heyerdahl’s Kon-Tiki,

which emulated primitive vessels of ancient peoples; forced migration of slaves such as those of African peoples from their homelands to American colonies; colonial journeys for power and profit including those of the British to India and many European countries to Africa and various other parts of the world. Also included is an excellent example of what humans can do for those on whom great suffering is inflicted, the Kindertransport British people set up to bring Jewish children to Britain to prevent them being sent to concentration camps by the Nazi regime.

What is key no matter the reason, is that with the movement of people comes a wealth of new, potentially enriching ideas. The author acknowledges that in a book such as this it’s impossible to cover everything and it’s an amazing thought that as he says, inside everyone of us is a ‘kaleidoscope of human history and thousands of stories of travel and adventure.

Christopher Corr’s distinctive illustrative style is ideal for the book making what would otherwise be quite a demanding subject much more accessible.