Ghosts Of The 20th Century

A boy named Josh is on a field trip to a history museum with his class when he runs into a statue of Albert Einstein. Except, the statue isn't a statue and is the real deal. Einstein takes Josh on a spree through the past century beginning in 1903 with the Wright Brothers flight at Kitty Hawk and ending on January 1, 2000 at a millenium celebration. The book encompasses all sorts of historical events and empasizes how the "ghosts of the past" haunt the future. The illustrations are breathtaking and there are so many tiny drawings on each page that it is hard to take it all in during one reading. The book includes a glossary of terms that elementary children may not be familiar with and a map of the world at the beginning of the century and part of one at the end of the century.This is an excellent book of history for youth that works well as a reference book, too.

Cheryl Harness' joyful grasp of the "serendipity" of history permeates all her work, but never moreso than in Ghosts of the 20th Century. Her enthusiasm is contagious, and young readers will not only understand but actually feel just how wondrously dreams and achievements grow from other dreams and achievements. TIME MAGAZINE recently chose Albert Einstein as its "person of the century," but Ms. Harness scooped them and chose him months ago as her readers' perfect guide. Einstein himself is quoted as saying that imagination is more important than knowledge, and surely no one could display the wedding of both better than Harness in this glorious book.