Book excerpt: Discover the intriguing story of Amerigo Vespucci in this junior-level biography from Peace Hill Press. When Columbus landed on the islands in the Caribbean Sea, he thought he was off the coast of China. A few years later, Amerigo Vespucci sailed west, hoping to find a new route to the East. Instead, he discovered new lands that nobody at home knew about. What did he see? Who did he tell? And why is America named after him? Outstanding illustrations from Jed Mickle complement the fabulous story, giving second-grade readers insight into the life of this discoverer. About the series: The classical curriculum introduces even the youngest student to the pleasures of true learning. Elementary students learn history not through predigested textbooks with multiple-choice answers, but through reading the stories of history. Unfortunately, biographies of great men and women of the past are almost all written for older students, limiting the ability of young students to explore history through reading. Libraries are crammed with biographies written for high school students and adults—while beginning readers are provided with a shelf full of junior-level books about football players, NASCAR drivers, and movie stars. Now, Peace Hill Press puts real history back into the grasp of the youngest historians with the Who in the World Biography Series. The first entries in the series provide young readers and their parents and teachers with biographies of great men and women of the Middle Ages. Designed to be used as part of The Story of the World curriculum, these biographies give beginning historians in grades 2–4 a chance to explore beyond the textbook. An audio version is also available separately.