World History (Visual Factfinder)

Just as the title indicates, "Visual Factfinder: World History" (1999) by Ken Hills is an excellent pictorial representation of history paired with an equally appealing text. One of Scholastic Inc's many fine educational books, this one certainly can be added to the ranks of excellent history resources for Grades 5-8. I personally love visual books like this. Why? Just read this example: Pages 28 and 29 are concerned with War and Plague. Three major events dominated the 1300 and 1400's: Hundred Years War, Black Death, and peasant revolts. Joan of Arc made her famous ride through history during the time of the Hundred Years War. She is shown tied to the stake in readiness for being burned. Another illustration shows the dead cart arriving during the night to collect victims of Black Death (or bubonic plague--a depiction of a black rat). There's a description of archers shooting a longbow and a crossbow. There are sidebars, charts, a map showing the origin of the plague, plus five really nice illustrations. Another section shows Europeans settling overseas: Brazil by the Portugese, the western United States by the Spanish, and South America also by the Spanish, the British in the eastern United States, the Dutch hardiness in the northern coastal area of South America, the Russians in Siberia, and the French along the eastern coasts of Africa. Maps, charts, and illustrations show the extent of this world-wide settlement. A sidebar concludes this brief study. The rest of the book follows pretty much this same plan of a two-page spread per topic. In fact, the book's concluding topic is Nelson Mandela and dissolution of apartheid. Overall, this is a fine research and review tool for grades 5-8. I want it for my own personal library.