1,000 Years Ago on Planet Earth [Hardcover]

Sneed B. Collard III (Author), Jonathan Hunt (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 27, 1999 | Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

At the dawn of the third millennium we know more about our amazing planet than ever before. But what did the world look like one thousand years ago? This eye-opening book takes readers back a thousand years in time to discover what was happening in twelve incredibly different civilizations at the turn of the first millennium. Travel to Central America to explore the great pyramid at Chichen Itza, witness the acts of the bloodthirsty and adventurous Vikings in northern Europe, and learn about the fascinating innovations of the Chinese during the Song Dynasty. This fascinating flashback describes how the planet has changed over the centuries and helps readers imagine what the future may be like.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Collard (Animal Dads) sets the clock back 1000 years as he looks at a dozen civilizations at the turn of the last millennium. One spread is devoted to each of the locales, which include central and southern Europe, where people suffered from a lack of formal education and strong central government; the Middle East and Mediterranean region, where Islamic culture flourished; southern Africa, where the Shona built cities and traded with Arab merchants; and India, which was experiencing cultural prosperity under the Chola Dynasty. While the author offers some intriguing tidbits, the text is often oversimplified or vague ("Printed books enabled the Song to educate large numbers of students to govern China's enormous population"; "Aborigines believed that the activities of Rainbow Serpents and other Ancestral Beings created the plants, animals, rocks, and places of Australia"). Unfortunately, in Hunt's (Bestiary) double-page ink-and-watercolor art, many of the scenes seem just as generic as the writing, lacking the specificity of a narrative drama that might have given readers a more encompassing visual impression of the epoch and each locale. A good idea, disappointingly executed. Ages 6-10. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4 As a millennium ends, it's only natural to be curious about its beginning. Here, Collard aims to pique that curiosity, not with a catalog of specific events, but by profiling 12 world cultures circa A.D. 1000. Each one gets a spread that combines a column of general information with a large painted scene, generally of earnest-looking people at work or play in a distinctive setting. Like the text, Hunt's illustrations are not crowded with details but those he does choose to include are carefully, clearly depicted. Though the selection of stopovers has a Eurocentric slant, young armchair tourists will also get glimpses of South America's Chimu people, early Shona culture in Africa, southern India under the Chola Dynasty, and North America's Mississippian civilization, among others. Capped by short lists of books and Web sites, this quick, sweeping survey suggests some of the ways life has and has not changed in the last 10 centuries. John Peters, New York Public Library
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (September 27, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395908663
• ISBN-13: 978-0395908662
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 9.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #676,140 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice references, June 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: 1,000 Years Ago on Planet Earth (Hardcover)

This book has many good references to historical facts, and gives a god grip on the situations on earth a thousand years ago! Id recommend it to anyone who loves to learn about the history of our planet.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, January 14, 2001

By 

"[e-mail]" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 1,000 Years Ago on Planet Earth (Hardcover)

Pretty interesting book and basically worth the money. Good recreation of historical events.