The Great Explorer: The Almost True Story of John Cabot's Discovery of Newfoundland

Alison Mews is co-ordinator of the Centre for Instructional Services at
The Memorial University of Newfoundland.

This lighthearted approach to history is just in time for the 1997 Cabot
celebrations in Newfoundland, which mark the 500th anniversary of
Cabot’s “discovery” of North America. Children will be amused, if
not educated, by Terry Morrison’s version of Giovanni Caboto’s
attempt to become a great explorer like Marco Polo.

The text is a spoof loosely based on Cabot’s life. Morrison’s Cabot
is a frustrated salesman of castles and stables who addresses King Henry
VII of England as “Your Bigwigness” and “Your Tightwadness,” and
finally sets sail with his faithful dog Vespoochi. Despite getting a
sore eye from looking through his telescope, Cabot is able to sight land
by yelling “buena vista, buena vista,” from which the present-day
Bonavista is supposed to have gotten its name. The ending of the book is
as upbeat and irreverent as the rest. Cabot, who disappeared in 1498 at
sea, is supposed to have gone to Tobago, where he and Vespoochi became
great sliding enthusiasts with the race of Toboggans. The illustrations,
which are cartoonish throughout, on the last page show the two sliding
with great glee down a snow-covered hill, while animated Toboggans dance
at the top.

Morrison provides no historical overview in the form of a preface or
afterword. Instead we find, printed in small italics, interesting trivia
(e.g., false teeth and table manners in 1497). This imaginative story is
great fun for those who can appreciate the humor, but for young
children, who are not able to discern the difference between historical
interpretation and pure conjecture, I cannot recommend it.