A City Through Time

Great cut away diagrams.

Gave to Niece for X-mas, all the adults were facinated by it, recommended for parents to look at with their kids to get them interested in history.

This book is rich in wonderful visual and intellectual detail and, for a certain type of kid, maybe one who seems unfocused, not conventionally sociable, in otherwords with a mind, perhaps brilliant, but not accesible as just another jolly fellow, can be just what focuses and satisfies. Great stuff

I love all the books in this series. This one has almost too much on each two page spread (more than some of the others in the series). But it's worth spending the time really looking and exploring the pages. Each book in this series takes a plot of land, in this case various parts of a city (not always from the exact same location in this one), and shows how it changes from pre-history human occupation through various key times in history (Greeks, Romans, Middle Ages, Industrial Rev. through to modern times). Because of the detail in this book, it would probably take several sittings to go through it together with your kids. It would also be a great one to leave out on the coffee table. It's the kind of book kids will pick up over and over again. There's a small amount of text on each page. Then around the edges there are "characters" which you can then try to find in the picture. This helps give the pages focus. I think this series of books are a great supplement to world history study and/or interesting to read and study just for fun.

My children greatly enjoy all the books in this series, and while Anne Millard does a great job with the facts it is the art of Steve Noon that really makes these books phenomenal. Easily understood information that is very interesting appears on each page, and with characters you can follow throughout the book you can spend a long time searching for them -- which allows you to really appreciate all the other historically accurate mini-scenes that play out all over. I will admit that I have been known to look through these books even when my children aren't around. This book, and all the others in this series, should be enjoyable for all children of all ages. Even those who aren't old enough to read will still love the pictures and learn something. Older children learn quite a bit, and keep coming back to the book because there is always something new to find. I highly recommend this book, and encourage any parent to add all of them to their collection!