I Wonder Why the Greeks Built Temples: And Other Questions about Ancient Greece

Ancient worlds are revisited in Greeks Built Temples by Fiona MacDonald. Youngsters will smile at the rollicking illustrations of days long past, while they visit the site of the world's first shopping mall, and see what Emperor Augustus did about high-rise apartments. Published in the Kingfisher series "I Wonder Why," this amazingly complete text leaves little to wonder about as data is skillfully woven into sometimes comically recreated scenes from early everyday life.

This is a simple introduction for a small child or older child who's not into history. Written in question and answer format it makes the information accessible, if however, disjointed. There is nothing in here about the ideas of Greece or her military campaigns or why she's important to western civilization. But information on how Greeks drank wine, when they married, etc. gives the child familiarity with Greeks as people. The answer to why Greeks built temples is to provide homes for their gods. If you're looking for a painless introduction to the word "Greece", this book is it.