Three pop-up tableaux—of bridge, castle and cathedral—enliven this exploration of life in 1325, which takes the fortunes of one Hugo from page to knight as its loose focus. Each spread presents one theme—“Becoming a Knight”; “Country Life”; “Crafts and Trades”—with fact boxes on such subtopics as sheep-shearing, rats and the plague and the ever-popular hygiene. The three money openings present narrow but impressive edifices leaping from the gutters; a “key” on the side invites readers to identify details within. Unfortunately, with the exception of the castle’s lift-the-flap walls, the tightness of the design makes it difficult to peer into these pop-ups. Nevertheless, good fun for budding medievalists. (index) (Pop-up/nonfiction. 8-12)
