Children know the medieval period best for its knights in shining armor. With an eye to redressing the omission of women from many historical accounts, MacDonald highlights some of the better-known women of the time, as well as the lives of everyday women, in this overview. While the other books in this series explore specific countries (Women in Ancient Greece, 1999, etc.), this history covers a broad spectrum of Christian women in many European nations. Contents include the role of women in medieval society, marriage, motherhood, health, dress, work, and religion, as well as short biographical information on notable women. Each subject is divided into paragraphs under bold headings in the style of an encyclopedia article. In a paragraph entitled “Multicultural,” MacDonald acknowledges that medieval Muslim, Jewish, and pagan women did exist; however, scanty information about them is given. Numerous reproductions of illustrations taken from books and paintings of the time break up the text, as do boxed quotations and anecdotes taken from original sources. The illustrations are accompanied by excellent explanatory captions; in fact, quotations and the captioned illustrations are often more interesting and specific than the text, which is quite general. A survey of five hundred years of history cannot cover so large a subject in depth, and this one omits many historical events that affected women’s lives, but students looking for another source for information on women will find this helpful. (Nonfiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: July 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-87226-569-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A pleasing new picture book looks at George Washington’s career through an agricultural lens. Sprinkling excerpts from his letters and diaries throughout to allow its subject to speak in his own voice, the narrative makes a convincing case for Washington’s place as the nation’s First Farmer. His innovations, in addition to applying the scientific method to compost, include a combination plow-tiller-harrow, the popularization of the mule and a two-level barn that put horses to work at threshing grain in any weather. Thomas integrates Washington’s military and political adventures into her account, making clear that it was his frustration as a farmer that caused him to join the revolutionary cause. Lane’s oil illustrations, while sometimes stiff, appropriately portray a man who was happiest when working the land. Backmatter includes a timeline, author’s notes on both Mount Vernon and Washington the slaveholder, resources for further exploration and a bibliography. (Picture book/biography. 8-12)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-59078-460-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Calkins Creek/Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The author of Cod’s Tale (2001) again demonstrates a dab hand at recasting his adult work for a younger audience. Here the topic is salt, “the only rock eaten by human beings,” and, as he engrossingly demonstrates, “the object of wars and revolutions” throughout recorded history and before. Between his opening disquisition on its chemical composition and a closing timeline, he explores salt’s sources and methods of extraction, its worldwide economic influences from prehistoric domestication of animals to Gandhi’s Salt March, its many uses as a preservative and industrial product, its culinary and even, as the source for words like “salary” and “salad,” its linguistic history. Along with lucid maps and diagrams, Schindler supplies detailed, sometimes fanciful scenes to go along, finishing with a view of young folk chowing down on orders of French fries as ghostly figures from history look on. Some of Kurlansky’s claims are exaggerated (the Erie and other canals were built to transport more than just salt, for instance), and there are no leads to further resources, but this salutary (in more ways than one) micro-history will have young readers lifting their shakers in tribute. (Picture book/nonfiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-399-23998-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2006
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