From School Library Journal
Gr 5-8--Like the successful ``Eyewitness'' books, this series has a large format, captionlike texts, and an extravagant museum of illustrations. Large fold-out pages illustrate big ideas, e.g., the burial procession of a pharaoh. Each book tackles a broad subject, but glossaries, indexes, time lines, and maps help unify the information. Small boxes scattered throughout are obviously meant to capture readers' attention, but they sometimes backfire, as when the facts they provide are too mundane or obscure for the intended audience. Ancient Egypt makes a broad sweep of the history of the land of the Nile, hitting on the standard topics, but also focusing on the daily life of ancient Egyptians. The illustrations are especially good here. Native Americans lumps Indian cultures together and, by doing so, is able to make comparisons of many cultures. It shows, for example, various modes of native transportation, and compares different lifestyles (farming, fishing, foraging, etc.). This approach works well when examining artifacts, but less well as an examination of ongoing, living cultures. Marlene Smith-Baranzini and Howard Egger-Bovet's Book of American Indians (Little, 1994) lacks the vivid full-color illustrations of this book, but gives readers a more complete picture. Cataclysmic events are the topic of Volcanoes & Earthquakes, but disaster-prevention techniques and related geological features, such as craters and hot springs, are also included. This book also touches on events such as the burial of Pompeii, where geology blends with archaeology. Attractive but somewhat dry overviews.Cathryn A. Camper, Minneapolis Public LibraryCopyright 1996 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Why did some Native American babies have many names?

Why were buffalo so important to the Plains Indians?

When did Native American boys become warriors?

Why did Hopi snake priests wear feathered headdresses and dance with snakes in their mouths?