Before he led the first expedition to circumnavigate the Earth, Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521) was a Portuguese sailor known for his incredible navigation skills. After years of sailing, he was chosen to lead a crew to circle the globe–a trip that no other ship had ever completed. Although Magellan died in combat in the Philippines before he could finish the voyage, his ship went on to complete the first circumnavigation of the world, and he is still known as one of the greatest explorers. However, as historians today note, many of the places that Magellan “discovered” already had people living there, rooting his fame in colonialism. This middle-grade biography, part of the First Names series, tackles the legacy–both good and bad–of this famous explorer.

Andi is short. And she has lots of wishes. She wishes she could play on the school basketball team, she wishes for her own bedroom, but most of all she wishes that her long-lost half-brother, Bernardo, could come and live in London where he belongs.

Then Andi’s biggest wish comes true and she’s minutes away from becoming someone’s little sister. As she waits anxiously for Bernardo to arrive from the Philippines, she hopes he’ll turn out to be tall and just as crazy as she is about basketball. When he finally arrives, he’s tall all right. Eight feet tall, in fact—plagued by condition called Gigantism and troubled by secrets that he believes led to his phenomenal growth.

In a novel packed with quirkiness and humor, Gourlay explores a touching sibling relationship and the clash of two very different cultures.