The catechism-style queries heading the 17 topical spreads here may seem a bit off-putting, but they're an admirably direct approach to information and subjects likely to interest children- -not only concerning ``what'' is known, but how the surviving evidence can be interpreted. On each spread, a brief paragraph addresses the question at hand (``Did the Celts go shopping?...[not] like we do. Instead, they grew their own food...However, luxury goods such as jewelery [sic] were bought...''). Extensively captioned photos and drawings of artifacts and reconstructions amplify the information on crafts and trade, origins and tribal movements, family structure, beliefs, and more. Like a well-crafted exhibit, an inviting introduction that offers a good sampling of objects with real stories to tell, together with lucid explanations of how these can be read (Martell even cautions that contemporary descriptions of Celts ``were written by people who thought their civilizations were better than the Celtic one,'' and gives an egregious example from Julius Caesar). Timeline; glossary; index. (Nonfiction. 8- 11)
Pub Date: June 30, 1993
ISBN: 0-87226-363-0
Page Count: 46
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1993
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Writing in a collective personal voice, Kyuchukov and the director of a Romani research center offer brief comments on their people’s history, customs and culture. Sandwiched between statements from the co-authors and a world population map, single-topic spreads offer both general information and plenty of captioned photos, both old and contemporary. Readers will come away with a clear idea of what the Romani have in common and of the diverse adaptations they have made in order to survive in the many countries to which they have scattered in their thousand-year history. The inside slant gives this quick once-over unusual authority—though Anne Wallace Sharp’s Gypsies (2002) is only one of several more detailed studies. (Nonfiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2005
ISBN: 1-56397-962-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2005
BOOK REVIEW
Harness takes Franklin from a “sick-of-soap-and-candles, sea-hankering boy” to contented, renowned old age, retracing well-traveled territory but slipping in frank acknowledgements that his first son was illegitimate and his other children born of a common-law marriage. Primarily, however, she includes an admiring recitation of his better-known political, civic and scientific successes. She packs her busy paintings with figures—many of whom glance out invitingly at viewers—in rumpled 18th-century dress, but only occasionally adds the distracting labels that mar many of her other outings. Replete with pithy quotes and closing with a lengthy, wide-ranging timeline, this tribute kicks off what is likely to be a national celebration of Franklin’s tercentenary on a strong, sure note. (bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 8-10)
Pub Date: Dec. 6, 2005
ISBN: 0-7922-7882-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2005
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