The Adventures of Alexander von Humboldt – Book Review

"Everything that I have seen during my travels falls into place. The natural world is a living whole and a wonderful organic web where everything is connected – from the smallest fleck of moss to the tallest tree. Nature is animated by one breath – from pole to pole. One life pours into rocks, plants and animals."
Alexander von Humboldt

Book Review

The Adventures of Alexander von Humboldt

Written by Andrea Wulf

Illustrated by Lillian Melcher

Why we chose this book:

T's dad and I both read Andrea Wulf's The Invention of Nature, which is a biography of Humboldt. T was super interested in what we were reading, asking frequently what Humboldt was doing, where he was going, what he was seeing, etc. As I read, I had to give him updates on Humboldt's expeditions. Then T got a little Playmobil guy who resembled an explorer, and he named him Alexander von Humboldt. This kid clearly had an interest, so when Wulf's graphic novel was announced, we could hardly wait for its publication. Pantheon Books provided a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Mom's Review

This is even better than I had expected. Invention of Nature is one of the best books I've read recently and the cover art for the children's edition gave me high expectations. T and his dad read part of this, and T and I read part of this. It is long and took us what felt like an eternity to read, but was no less enjoyable for it. The oversized and heavy book was a great lap read, where T's dad or I could point to the speech bubble and T could follow along with the action. This is such a fun and beautiful and fascinating book; being cozy with T to read it was a delight.

Readers will learn about Alexander von Humboldt, for whom more things in the world are named than any other person (rives, towns, universities, the list goes on...).  Humboldt was an explorer in the best sense – he wanted literally to measure the world, learn from indigenous peoples, share his passion with Europeans, and promote what we now think of as environmentalist practices. The book takes the shape of a graphic novel in which are interspersed excerpts from Humboldt's journal and Bonpland's plant samples (Bonpland was the botanist who traveled with Humboldt). "Primary" sources thus abound. 

The story as it is traced in the series of comic strips is thrilling: it is filled with volcanic eruptions, storms at sea, and horrible illnesses. We all couldn't help but be amused by Humboldt's and Bonpland's reaction to tomatoes, which they called "arse blockers" because of the constipation they caused. We felt as though we were right there with Humboldt and Bonpland, and the myriad helpers and guides who accompanied them. Readers learn about his expeditions, his discoveries (he mapped and compared air currents, for example), and the interconnectedness of the whole world. 

I cannot recommend The Adventures of Alexander von Humboldt highly enough, particularly for anyone who has environmental interests or loves adventure.

Son's Review

(Age: 4 and 1/2)

"They [readers] can learn about Alexander von Humboldt and his live...That he does adventures with his friends a lot. One finds plants and one explores...This is based on real life."

"I like how there are all these drawings that they drew. Like, I like these kinds of drawings."

(T pointed out the comic strip/graphic novel style pages and explained that he liked how the story was told in a series of pictures – my words, not his.)