by Allison Laaieur
Each book provides a general history and then devotes separate chapters to different groups of people within the culture. Greeks includes scientists, philosophers, poets, playwrights, slaves, workers, and so on. Egyptians discusses farmers, brewers, kings, queens, pharaohs, warriors, captives, and mummy makers, among others. Chinese highlights kings, emperors, artisans, inventors, healers, and so on. Each book ends with a chapter on the legacy of the civilization, a time line that extends beyond the period covered in the text, and short biographies of major figures.
Theses titles are illustrated with a few modern pictures, but mainly with photos of items from the culture discussed (except for Greeks, which mostly has Renaissance-era and later prints). There are no pronunciation guides except for a few words in Chinese, and Greeks only really looks at Athens. These titles offer useful information that would help report writers and would also engage interested readers. Softcover · Grades 4-7.
