We Asked for Nothing: The Remarkable Journey of Cabeza de Vaca

by Stuart Waldman, Tom McNeely (Illustrator)

The explorer who discovered his own humanity. In 1528, the conquistador Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca escaped a hostile reception in Florida only to be shipwrecked off the coast of Texas. For the next eight years, he lived among the native tribes of the Southwest while he journeyed towards the safety of the Spanish settlements in Mexico. He and three companions survived starvation, sickness and slavery thanks to the generosity of native peoples along the way. When Cabeza de Vaca finally reached the Spanish, he was a changed man and led the struggle against the feudal-like exploitation of the New World populations. Stuart Waldman tells the fascinating story of two one covering 2,500 miles through unexplored territory, the other the transformation of a man's heart. Excerpts from Cabeza de Vaca's journals make the reader's immersion into this mystifying world complete. The gatefold map allows the reader to follow the journey while reading.

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, History, Biography, Childrens

48 pages, Hardcover

First published September 6, 2003

About the author

Stuart Waldman is a writer and editor. His Great Explorers book We Asked for Nothing: The Remarkable Journey of Cabeza de Vaca won a Notable Children's Book Award from the International Reading Association. He lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book in the Great Explorers series by Stuart Waldman covers the amazing and unusual journey of Spanish sailor Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca who shipwrecked off an island of Texas in 1528 and was only one of four survivors of the Narváez expedition. He and the other survivors (one of whom was a Black slave) wandered for eight years throughout the Southwest in present-day Texas and Mexico and met many Indian tribes that no longer exist today. He and the others were perceived as faith healers and many tribe members followed him on his journey. His remembrances that he wrote in a book years later are sadly the only snapshot we have of cultures long gone.

Although a children's book, this reads very adult, as frankly, all the books in this series do. The illustrations by Tom McNeely are wonderfully authentic, but again it skews towards older readers since it depicts some violence, but could prompt some important discussions about how the native tribes were horribly treated. I have found these books informative and am reading them all.

[Jason Orendorff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I second everything in Sandy D.'s excellent review. It's true, the pictures are a minor disappointment.

However it has to be emphasized that the story of Cabeza de Vaca is one of the most incredible things that has ever happened to anybody. If you don't know this story, get the book.

The words and sentences are a bit bloodless, but I like that in a history book; and the bones of this book—the plot, the pacing, the framing, the issues raised—are world-class. It’s like great literature. The characters’ actions speak for themselves. Their struggles are many. The journey is hard. They face disease, slavery, hunger, and death. But it comes down to a conflict between a man and his own civilization. Poignant, powerful stuff.

And yet the way it is all presented imposes as little as possible on the young reader.

I had this at four stars, but contrary to my expectations, the story held my 6- and 8-year-olds’ interest. (I read it to them over several bedtimes.) So it has to be five.

This book reminds me of the novel, The Sparrow, because there too, discovering a new world turns out to be completely, overwhelmingly strange, utterly impossible to navigate physically or morally, unpredictable, life-changing, tragic.

[Sandy D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting approach to kid's history - but the pictures were a little too National Geographic reconstruction-ish for me. The history is accurate and the author did a good job structuring the incredible story (with nice sidebars with de Vaca's actual words), but some of the text was a little...not boring, exactly, but it seemed like Waldman tried to cram too many words in here, with not enough passion, or not enough stuff to capture kid's interest. It's hard to do history for kids. I guess I thought it seemed like it was simultaneously aimed at an older audience, but the format was for younger kids (who would probably get bored with the long pages of descriptive text).

The epilogue (what happened to other characters) was excellent, a really nice touch.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent biography told in story form that humanizes every character. The artwork is superb and further contributes to bringing everyone to life. I especially appreciated the detailed geography, accurate tribe names, and the quotes from the original source document to back up the narrative. Definitely recommend.

[Kaila Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read it to my kids as part of our history curriculum (homeschool). They really liked listening to this book and were sad when it was over. It was an interesting look at the conquistadors and the treatment of natives. It opened the door for some important conversations about that period in time.

[Kami · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 stars for the execution—it was dry. +1 star for the fascinating history, BUT my kids attention was not held and only I finished it. So for a picture book, that’s a pretty hard fail.

[Mti Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really interesting straight forward profile of a little piece of history that I had never heard of before. In 1528, while the Spanish conquistadores were plundering and "taming" the New World, the Spanish King charged Cabeza de Vaca to investigate and report on how the natives were being treated. The expedition made landfall in Florida, but quickly fell apart and after various disasters a small group of men, including Cabeza de Vaca, began making their way on foot through what is today Texas and Mexico to get back to Spanish settlements.

This is not an uplifting story. Cabeza de Vaca traveled and survived for ten years, but didn't earn wealth or a peaceful old age. He devised a clever plan to prevent further sacking of Native American villages by having them display signs of converting to Christianity. Even though the king had ordered the conquistadors not to abuse and enslave the Native Americans, they continued to do so until villages began erecting crosses. Yes, it did save lives, but religious conversion on the pain of death is always questionable.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book, amazing to me that the story survived to be told, beautiful art work.

[Stephanie Chang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting historical figure and insight into Native America.

[Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for all Texas history students. Unbelievable what he and his men went through and survived and what they learned.