by Robert Hegarty ; illustrated by Marcelo Badari ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2017
A disaster from start to finish—Eurocentric, culturally inclusive only in the most perfunctory way, paltry both in content...
A set of topical timelines offer wide-angle views of human culture, works, technology, and daily life.
In a perfect storm of poor design and superficial content, Hegarty’s highly select assortment of names and events are laid out in minuscule type—often in black against dark-colored backgrounds for extra measures of eye strain—hidden beneath small flaps or strung along irregularly dated timelines. Badari follows suit with blocky, diminutive images of buildings, human figures (nearly all white), and artifacts. Following a preliminary spread that tracks such prehistorical highlights as the descent of blond “early man” from the trees, successive spreads compare the spans of world civilizations on a quaint “BC/AD” scale. They then go on to survey more specific areas, such as progress in “The Arts” from prehistoric “little dolls,” carved to “bring good luck,” to “JRR Tolkein,” and significant “Inventions,” among which chocolate, kindergarten, and Twitter receive nods. A concluding “What’s Next?” spread with a rudimentary pop-up offers a blithe promise that robots will replace human workers and the specious claim that colonizing Mars will relieve Earth’s overpopulation.
A disaster from start to finish—Eurocentric, culturally inclusive only in the most perfunctory way, paltry both in content and in special effects. (Informational novelty. 10-12)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-944530-09-9
Page Count: 18
Publisher: 360 Degrees
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
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by Jonathan Litton ; illustrated by Chris Chalik & Dave Shephard & Jon Davis & Leo Hartas
by Melvin Berger & Gilda Berger ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2001
An introduction to ancient Egypt and the Pharaohs buried in the Valley of the Kings. The authors begin with how archaeologist Howard Carter found the tomb of King Tut, then move back 3,000 years to the time of Thutmosis I, who built the first tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Finally they describe the building of the tomb of a later Pharaoh, Ramses II. The backward-forward narration is not always easy to follow, and the authors attribute emotions to the Pharaohs without citation. For example, “Thutmosis III was furious [with Hatshepsut]. He was especially annoyed that she planned to be buried in KV 20, the tomb of her father.” Since both these people lived 3,500 years ago, speculation on who was furious or annoyed should be used with extreme caution. And the tangled intrigue of Egyptian royalty is not easily sorted out in so brief a work. Throughout, though, there are spectacular photographs of ancient Egyptian artifacts, monuments, tomb paintings, jewels, and death masks that will appeal to young viewers. The photographs of the exposed mummies of Ramses II, King Tut, and Seti I are compelling. More useful for the hauntingly beautiful photos than the text. (brief bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-7922-7223-4
Page Count: 64
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2001
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by Raymond Bial ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2001
Bial (A Handful of Dirt, p. 299, etc.) conjures up ghostly images of the Wild West with atmospheric photos of weathered clapboard and a tally of evocative names: Tombstone, Deadwood, Goldfield, Progress, Calamity Jane, Wild Bill Hickock, the OK Corral. Tracing the life cycle of the estimated 30,000 ghost towns (nearly 1300 in Utah alone), he captures some echo of their bustling, rough-and-tumble past with passages from contemporary observers like Mark Twain: “If a man wanted a fight on his hands without any annoying delay, all he had to do was appear in public in a white shirt or stove-pipe hat, and he would be accommodated.” Among shots of run-down mining works, dusty, deserted streets, and dark eaves silhouetted against evening skies, Bial intersperses 19th-century photos and prints for contrast, plus an occasional portrait of a grizzled modern resident. He suggests another sort of resident too: “At night that plaintive hoo-hoo may be an owl nesting in a nearby saguaro cactus—or the moaning of a restless ghost up in the graveyard.” Children seeking a sense of this partly mythic time and place in American history, or just a delicious shiver, will linger over his tribute. (bibliography) (Nonfiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-618-06557-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2001
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