Children's Encyclopedia of American History ANNOTATION
Full-color maps, photographs, and paintings illustrate a comprehensive reference guide to American history.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Full-color maps, photographs, and paintings illustrate a comprehensive reference guide to American history.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Produced in association with the Smithsonian Institution, DK's Children's Encyclopedia of American History by David King is a comprehensive overview lavishly illustrated with period photographs, paintings and drawings of people, objects and events, as well as maps and charts. Separate topics-from "The Constitution" to "Terrorism Strikes Home"-unfold in double-page spreads throughout 18 chronologically organized chapters. An appendix includes a list of the U.S. presidents, a chart of key facts about the 50 states, and the texts of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and its Amendments, plus the Gettysburg Address. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Children's Literature - Marilyn Courtot
American history can fill volumes, but this single volume offers a concise overview of most major events. The story actually goes back to about 1000 years to the first European explorerﾽLief Eriksson's arrival in North America. It was almost 500 years before the Americas were discovered again and this time by Christopher Columbus in 1492. The layout of the book is enticing and the easy to read text, abundance of photographs and other illustrations will attract readers to nearly every spread. A very useful feature is the opening explanation describing how to use the book, which is really a guide to the spreads. The timelines that run along the bottom helps to put world events and the time period the spread relate to is clearly denoted. Each spread focuses on a theme or events that occurred during that time period. In addition to world events and what the US was doing at the time, readers will glean other interesting facts about prominent people, inventions and trends. There are definitions, references to related pages and in most of the chapters special feature spreads which can be recognized by their yellow border. For the period 1870-1901 a feature entitled Victorian America shows what life was like by depicting the interior of a home, describing the art and literature (Mark Twain, John Singer Sargent, James Whistler, Edith Wharton), the new forms of entertainment including the circus, Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, the Chicago Exposition and the Ferris Wheel as well as spectator sports such as baseball. The encyclopedia is quite up to date with a discussion of the 2000 presidential election, the terrorist attack on New York and references to Osama Bin Laden. The backmatter includes alisting of all the presidents, their terms state of birth, party and a small picture; information about the states including date that they joined the union, state tree, bird, flower, and nickname and important documents such as the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Gettysburg Address. There is an extensive index to facilitate research. 2003, DK Publishing, Ages 10 up.
School Library Journal
Gr 5-9-A visually enticing and textually fascinating survey. Grouped thematically and chronologically (with overlap where necessary), the 18 chapters span the centuries, starting with 1000-1607 ("Two Worlds Meet"-a look at the indigenous cultures and the impacts of European exploration) and concluding with 2000-2002 ("A New Millennium"-September 11, 2001, and beyond). Chapters consist of up to 10 two- to four-page spreads and open with an introduction that offers a few paragraphs of text, a representative graphic, a brief overview, and a time line. A typical spread contains a colored tab indicating the years addressed, maps, captioned photos, sidebars that elaborate on specific events, reproductions of paintings and drawings, definitions, and cross-references. Appendixes include a compendium of presidents; state facts; and the full text of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Gettysburg Address. Tied more to themes and historical strands than Chronicle of America (DK, 2000), this book is also more approachable and will be especially appealing to students intimidated by text-heavy resources.-Mary R. Hofmann, Rivera Middle School, Merced, CA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
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