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
After surveying “competing claims” for the first Thanksgiving from 1541 on, in Texas, Florida, Maine, Virginia and Massachusetts, Colman decides in favor of the 1621 event with the English colonists and Wampanoag as the first “because the 1621 event was more like the Thanksgiving that we celebrate today.” She demonstrates, however, that the “Pilgrim and Indian” story is really not the antecedent of Thanksgiving as we celebrate it today. Rather, two very old traditions—harvest festivals and days of thanksgiving for special events—were the origin, and this interesting volume traces how the custom of proclaiming a general day of thanksgiving took hold. Yet, since many Thanksgiving celebrations in towns and schools are still rooted in the “Pilgrim and Indian” story, which the author calls “true and important,” but which many Native Americans find objectionable, a more in-depth discussion of it is warranted here. The solid bibliography does include some fine resources, such as 1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving (2001) by Catherine O’Neill Grace and Margaret M. Bruchac. (author’s note, chronology, index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-8050-8229-6
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A quick but systematic overview, well-endowed with both visual and documentary supporting material.
Fitting neatly into primary-classroom units about World War II and the Holocaust, a broad if dispassionate overview of the privately funded evacuation of 10,000 European children in the months before the war’s formal start.
Despite an introduction and frequent boxed comments or memories from eight still-living participants—plus repeated mention of the Talmudic saying that “Whoever saves one life saves the world entire”—Hodge’s account is more matter-of-fact than suspenseful or even particularly immediate. She sketches in Germany’s history from Hitler’s rise to Kristallnacht, noting the reluctance of other national governments to take German refugees, particularly Jewish ones. The author goes on to describe in general how the Refugee Children’s Movement in Britain and related individual efforts brought trainloads of children from 3-month- to 16-year-olds out of several countries to Great Britain (and, she notes only in passing, possibly to havens in other countries too). Though even sketchier in covering the refugees’ experiences settling in during and after the war, she does also bring their stories up to modern reunions and commemorations. Then-and-now portraits of her eight survivors, with a mix of period photos and paintings by Kind artist Hans Jackson, provide plenty of visual witness to those dangerous times and the children caught in them.
A quick but systematic overview, well-endowed with both visual and documentary supporting material. (map, biographies, timeline, multimedia resource lists) (Nonfiction. 10-12)Pub Date: Oct. 9, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-77049-256-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
