SAINT BRENDAN AND THE VOYAGE BEFORE COLUMBUS is a an exciting picture book that introduces children and their parents to the story of Brendan's voyage to the land of Tir-na-n-Og, a voyage so fantastic that many people believed it was only a legend. Born in Ireland in 484, Brendan was schooled in the ways of the sun and the seas and the sky. As a monk, Brendan learned about the land of Tir-na-n-Og, the Promised Land of the Saints, and one day he set out in a sailboat called a curragh to find it. On his journey he and his fellow voyagers encountered a whale, several islands, an iceberg, and a volcano, before finally reaching beautiful Tir-na-n-Og, where "painted saints" (Native Americans) greeted him in peace. Brendan returned home with the understanding that his adventures, good and bad, had brought him closer to God. In a postscript the author links Brendan with Columbus and with modern sailor Tim Severin, who in 1976 retraced Brendan's route in a replica curragh using Brendan's "Navigatio as his guide. This richly illustrated book captures Brendan's spirit and legacy and his incredible adventures as he journeyed to America in the sixth century. It will make wonderful reading for children, who will be excited to learn about this saint after whom so many are named.
