Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 3^-6. As the third millennium A.D. approaches, kids may wonder what was happening on earth at the turn of the second. This book does a fine job of introducing that information, beginning with a list of facts (population, language, etc.) and going on to survey what was happening in various parts of the world. Each two-page spread begins "1,000 years ago in . . ." and goes on to chronicle in a bar of text what was happening in civilizations in various parts of the world. Among the areas chronicled are the Americas, Central and Southern Europe, Northern Europe, England, China, India, the Middle East, Africa, and Australia. Although the information is cursory, it is intriguing enough to make students seek more. Most of the spreads are taken up by the art, which, though well executed, lacks a certain spirit. The pictures do, however, add a solid visual dimension to the historical developments. The last page updates the fact list initially presented. Kids will see there has been tremendous progress in some ways, but not all. --Ilene Cooper
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Collard (Animal Dads) sets the clock back 1000 years as he looks at a dozen civilizations at the turn of the last millennium. One spread is devoted to each of the locales, which include central and southern Europe, where people suffered from a lack of formal education and strong central government; the Middle East and Mediterranean region, where Islamic culture flourished; southern Africa, where the Shona built cities and traded with Arab merchants; and India, which was experiencing cultural prosperity under the Chola Dynasty. While the author offers some intriguing tidbits, the text is often oversimplified or vague ("Printed books enabled the Song to educate large numbers of students to govern China's enormous population"; "Aborigines believed that the activities of Rainbow Serpents and other Ancestral Beings created the plants, animals, rocks, and places of Australia"). Unfortunately, in Hunt's (Bestiary) double-page ink-and-watercolor art, many of the scenes seem just as generic as the writing, lacking the specificity of a narrative drama that might have given readers a more encompassing visual impression of the epoch and each locale. A good idea, disappointingly executed. Ages 6-10. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-4 As a millennium ends, it's only natural to be curious about its beginning. Here, Collard aims to pique that curiosity, not with a catalog of specific events, but by profiling 12 world cultures circa A.D. 1000. Each one gets a spread that combines a column of general information with a large painted scene, generally of earnest-looking people at work or play in a distinctive setting. Like the text, Hunt's illustrations are not crowded with details but those he does choose to include are carefully, clearly depicted. Though the selection of stopovers has a Eurocentric slant, young armchair tourists will also get glimpses of South America's Chimu people, early Shona culture in Africa, southern India under the Chola Dynasty, and North America's Mississippian civilization, among others. Capped by short lists of books and Web sites, this quick, sweeping survey suggests some of the ways life has and has not changed in the last 10 centuries. John Peters, New York Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Providing a historical overview of the world's cultures at the turn of the last millennium, each double-page spread features a brief survey of life in a different location. The blandly competent text touches on topics such as agriculture, commerce, and architecture in, among others, North America, China, and Australia. The color illustrations sometimes have a static quality. Interesting concepts; unexciting presentation. Bib. From HORN BOOK Spring 2000, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
How did people live 1,000 years ago? Collard (Animal Dads, 1997, etc.) presents a different region or civilization on each spread, introducing the Anasazi and Mississippian of North America, Mayan of Central America, Chimu of Peru, Vikings of Northern Europe, Muslims of the Middle East, Shona of West Africa, the Chola dynasty of India, Song dynasty of China, and the Aborigines of Australia. For most civilizations, the author selects high points, but Central and Southern Europe is a place where ``culture and civilization were floundering,'' while the spread on Northern Europe provides little information on how people lived, stressing instead that the Vikings raided ``defenseless towns and villages across Europe and Asia'' where they ``slaughtered their enemies, ransomed rulers, and seized slaves, silver, and other valuables.'' For the most part, however, Collard captures the essence of a culture in a few brief paragraphs. Hunt attempts to provide additional clues to the culture, showing clothing, artifacts and the architecture, but the facial expressions are often fierce, or at least somber, and the emphasis on blood in the Aborigine and Northern European spreads taps into stereotypes. Nevertheless, this is a good introduction that will encourage more exploration. (map, further reading) (Picture book/nonfiction. 9-12)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
