Veteran nonfictioneers Manning and Grandström add an entry to their Fly on the Wall series with an engaging, if scattershot, look at the life and times of a fictional fifth-century BCE soldier. Creating a cast of informally drawn, ordinary-looking figures, the authors follow burly young Agathon, fresh from the great victory over the Persians at Plataea, as he settles in the town of Aegina, attends the theater, marries merchant’s daughter Ambrosia, then travels to the Olympics to compete. Handwritten quotes or captions in the pictures supplement the brief text running across the bottom, and side spreads along the way provide comments on schooling, the place of women in ancient Greek society, life in Sparta and other special topics. The general focus on details of daily life makes this a good companion for the plethora of more systematic historical overviews. (combination index/glossary) (Nonfiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: May 15, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-84507-683-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2008
The level of information in Platt’s narrative may be superficial, but the large trim size, cutaways of Ellis Island and other landmarks and intricate aerial views of Manhattan in this Through Time series entry capture a sense of the scale and bustling energy of “the city that never sleeps.” Cappon’s spread-spanning views open with a Lenape settlement, ca. 1600, close with a modern view looking south from Central Park and in between depict such watershed events as the British takeover (1664), a half-built Brooklyn Bridge (1882), the World’s Fair (1939) and 9/11. Easily digestible blocks of present-tense narration tucked into the corners supply a broadly brushed historical background, supplemented by pithy comments—a couple of them misleading: a reference to Brooklyn Bridge workers “crippled by a sickness called ‘decompression’” and a claim that the 1969 ticker-tape parade for the Apollo 11 astronauts extended into Queens (these will be corrected in the second printing)—attached to selected details. Not a guide that will be particularly useful to tourists but an adequate introduction for general interests. (Nonfiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: July 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7534-6416-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Kingfisher
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2010
Whirls of tiny, brightly dressed people’some with wings—fill Kleven’s kaleidoscopic portraits of sun-drenched Los Angeles neighborhoods and landmarks; the Los Angeles—based authors supply equally colorful accounts of the city’s growth, festivals, and citizens, using an appended chronology to squeeze in a few more anecdotes. As does Kathy Jakobsen’s My New York (1998), Jaskol and Lewis’s book captures a vivid sense of a major urban area’s bustle, diversity, and distinctive character; young Angelenos will get a hearty dose of civic pride, and children everywhere will find new details in the vibrant illustrations at every pass. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-10)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-525-46214-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999
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