Virtual Book Tour: Global Explorers--Circumnavigation

Welcome back to my virtual blog tour. Yesterday I began the tour to celebrate the release of my new book, Readers Theatre for Global Explorers. I will be sharing some of my journey, offering free downloads, and holding a drawing for three books.

Today I'm visiting with Gail Handler at Write for the Soul & Visualeyes. Gail was an elementary school for 30 years. Now, she teaches through her writing. I hope you'll stop by Gail's blog. While you're there, read some of the posts about her journey with losing her sight and the tremendous challenges and adaptations she makes to continue living well. Her story is inspiring.

Each day on the blog tour I will be posting a question to pique your curiosity or to hear your opinion. So let's answer yesterday's question.

Yesterday’s question: Who was REALLY the first person to circumnavigate the globe?

Answer: Magellan got the credit, but the poor man died about half way around. Juan Elcano, a Spanish pilot, WAS navigating the final surviving ship that limped into port nearly three years after they started. But personally, I think credit should go to Antonio Pigafetta. You’ve got to love that name, and I did have some fun playing with it. Pigafetta wasn’t even a sailor, just an adventurer who signed on with Magellan’s crew “to see the very great and awful things of the ocean.” He kept a journal that preserved the awful tale of mutiny, betrayal, and treachery.

Magellan was Portuguese, sailing for the Spanish crown. He left port with five fully-loaded ships and crews and four Spanish captains. It was not a good situation from the start, and it only got worse. Before they were even half way around the world, Magellan had one captain executed for mutiny, one(already dead) drawn and quartered, and one left on an island of cannibals. The final captain left Magellan to fend for himself against a storm of angry islanders, but then he (the captain) died of scurvy. Elcano was the only one left who could pilot the ship, but if not for poor Pigafetta, we wouldn't know the story.

Author questions from Mrs. Gill's class:

My grandson's fourth grade class is following along on the blog tour. They have sent me questions for the author. I will feature the class on the blog tour next week, but I wanted to begin answering their questions.

Is it hard being a writer? Is it fun being a writer? It is hard work. Writing is very much like any other job. It takes time and practice to learn the craft and become good at it. Think about a carpenter building a house. Most people can swing a hammer and slap a few boards together, but for a good solid house, you want a carpenter who has learned exactly how far apart the studs go and practiced joining the roof to the walls. The more you do it, the better you become at it. Writing is like that, too. Even though it's hard work, yes, writing is a lot of fun.

Today's question: How do you spell Readers Theatre?

Tomorrow, we'll be visiting a writer friend and poet, Irene Latham, to talk about the benefits of using reader's theater to teach history.

Be sure to leave a post and I'll put your name in the hat for a drawing at the end of the tour. See Day One for a description of the books I'll be giving away.