Larry D. Agenbroad and Lisa Nelson (Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Company, 2002) 120 pp., $7.95
Mammoths reigned as giants on the earth for more than 3 million years, providing Paleolithic humans with meat, warmth (marrow- and fat-laden mammoth bones burned relatively well), artistic inspiration (exquisite cave paintings and carvings of woolly mammoths have been uncovered in France and Spain) and construction materials (the remains of 15,000-year-old huts built of 300-pound mammoth skulls, shoulder blades, pelvic bones and vertebrae have been excavated in the Ukraine). Teen readers will be especially intrigued by the authors’ discussion about why the mammoths became extinct around 10,000 years ago, and whether or not brand-new mammoths can (or should) be cloned by recovering DNA from a frozen specimen recently found in Jarkov, Siberia.
Archaeology for Kids: Uncovering the Mysteries of Our Past
Richard Panchyk (Chicago: Chicago University Press, 2001) 146 pp., $14.95
Lots of information about the ancient world and the archaeological techniques used to uncover it lies in these pages, but children ages 9 and up won’t realize how much they’re learning—they’ll be too busy having fun. Units on prehistoric man, the first civilizations, Greece and Rome, and the New World are accompanied by 25 different hands-on activities. For example, the exciting story of Oetzi, the 5,000-year-old frozen ice-man found by hikers in the Alps in 1991, is followed by a clear explanation of how each Ice Age began and an experiment that explores which kinds of objects—bread, pebbles, newsprint, metal clips, leaves and blueberries—are best preserved in ice.
Ancient Rome
Peter Connolly (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001) 64 pp., $18.95
Ancient Greece
Peter Connolly (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001) 64 pp., $18.95
This duo by Peter Connolly is sure to captivate elementary school children curious about ancient peoples’ daily lives. Who wouldn’t be thrilled to learn that the Romans didn’t use soap when they washed (they rubbed on perfumed olive oil and then scraped the dirt away with a special blade) and put pepper on their desserts? Or that kids in ancient Athens celebrated 70 public holidays each year and got to go barefoot all summer long? Connolly’s colorful illustrations and succinct explanations bring long-dead worlds back to life.
Ancient Egyptians: People of the Pyramids
Rosalie F. and Charles F. Baker III (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001) 190 pp., $40
Thirty of ancient Egypt’s brightest luminaries are chronologically profiled in this well-written resource book for middle- and high-school students. Maps, a timeline and glossary—as well as informative sidebars—help summarize the accomplishments of such leaders as Imhotep, the architect of the massive Step Pyramid; Akhenaten, the heretic king who worshipped only the sun god, Aten; and Hatshepsut, Egypt’s first female ruler.
Mammoths: Ice-Age Giants
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