I found Sea Cows, Shamans, and Scurvy to be an ideal fit for our little homeschool unit study on explorers, navigation and natural history. We needed a change from tales of American and British explorers and hadn't read much about Siberia previously so this fit the bill. I picked this title by chance from our library and was quickly attracted by its highly readable language and quirky pen and ink illustrations. Great as a read aloud too...but if you have highly-sensitive little children, you should be aware that the author mentions disease and death.
Readers who enjoyed The Voyage of the Beetle by Anne Weaver may enjoy this book too.