Author(s): Michael J Rosen

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Age range 6 to 12How do we remember history? What are the truths and lies we tell? When Marco Polo first told his tales of adventure, it was to a truly captive audience — for he was in prison. He dictated his story to a fellow inmate, an author named Rustichello, and from there, other scribes copied, translated, and customised the story to suit their purposes. Variations ran wild, and doubts as to what was true and what was exaggerated set in. In keeping with that tradition of mythic legend based on historical fact, The Million Stories of Marco Polo is told by a fictitious scribe who himself participated in creating a Polo manuscript. Journey along as he relates selected episodes from Polo’s life to a curious young visitor who is eager to commit the tales to her own memory so that she, too, can be a storyteller.