San Rafael: A Central American City Through the Ages (ILLUSTRATED) [Hardcover]

Xavier Hernandez (Author), Jordi Ballonga (Illustrator), Josep Escofet (Illustrator), Kathleen Leverich (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 26, 1992 | Age Level: 9 and up

A look at a Latin American city traces the development of fictional city based on actual towns in Mexico and Central America, discussing history, anthropology, city planning, culture, and more.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7-- Hernandez uses a ficticious city as the prototype for all Central American cities of Mayan descent. Each stage in its development, from its birth as a small village 3000 years ago, through its uncertain future in the late 20th century, is examined in double-page spreads. For each time period, a detailed architectural rendering provides a panoramic view of San Rafael and the surrounding area. A half-page inset then diagrams that scene, identifying land usages, buildings, and infrastructure. Text and additional pen-and-ink illustrations explain other aspects of Mayan society that, after rising out of the jungle to glory, collapsed in ruin to emerge as a mixture of Spanish colonialism and New World cultures. The text is brief but clearly written, offering readers a great deal of information in a small amount of space. Although most children will be fascinated by the intricate detail, some may be confused by the terrain analysis and overwhelmed by the volume of textual and visual material. There is no glossary to explain the sophisticated vocabulary and concepts, and the index is nothing more than a table of contents. Useful, but of limited appeal. --Jeanette Larson, Texas State Library, Austin
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Italian

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 61 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin; First edition (October 26, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395606454
• ISBN-13: 978-0395606452
• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 9.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #511,907 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:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good illustrations and descriptions of daily life., July 28, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: San Rafael: A Central American City Through the Ages (ILLUSTRATED) (Hardcover)

Wow! This book is great. I have used it in my ninth grade geography classroom as an introduction to research. The kids really enjoy the pictures, and it provides a focused look at the development of civilization on the Yucatan Peninsula. This is also a great book for readers as young as ten.

5.0 out of 5 stars Life Cycle of a Central American City, November 15, 2011

By 

Marco Antonio Abarca (Colorado) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: San Rafael: A Central American City Through the Ages (ILLUSTRATED) (Hardcover)

"San Rafael" follows the rise and fall and then rebirth of a Central American city. The fictional city of San Rafael is strategically located in the Peten region of Guatemala. The book begins with the first Mayan settlement and then through the centuries, the reader sees the rise and fall of an important Mayan city. After the fall of the Mayan settlement, the Spanish arrive and through the centuries we see the small Spanish settlement slowly evolve into a modern Central American city.

What makes this book work are the highly detailed illustrations of the city as it changes through the centuries. The topographic features remain the same but the buildings come and go as the fortunes of the city ebb and flow. San Rafael is part of series which also includes "Barmi", "Lebek" and "Um Al Madayan". All of the books in the sereis are beautifully illustrated. The value of the books in this series is that they show young children the "long story" of a specific place. They are all great books and I highly recommend them.

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book for the study of the evolution of Central American cities over time, August 11, 2008

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: San Rafael: A Central American City Through the Ages (ILLUSTRATED) (Hardcover)

San Rafael is a fictitious city whose location is between Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and Guatemala. This book is a historical description of the changes in the city starting with the first clearing of the jungle, through the rise of the Mayan civilization, Spanish conquest and control, post-independence political and social instability to the rise of a modern industrial metropolis.
Fourteen historical epochs are examined and for each there is a textual description of the main social and political structure and specific problems. There are also four diagrams, one a two-page layout of the city, a second that is a depiction of the people going about their daily lives, one that is a small layout of the city with highlights on the main structures, and a small one that demonstrates a specific item in the city at that time. All of the last three types of diagrams also have accompanying explanatory captions.
This book is an excellent supplementary text for the study of Central America. By going through the historical phases of a city, you learn how urban life in that region has evolved over thousands of years.