Customer Reviews

The Story of Clocks and Calendars

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am using this book in a math-through-history course I teach for all ages, including my own children, along with a similar book by Betsy Maestro, The Story of Money. These books are beautifully illustrated, with "denser" text than a picture book, and they fit a need for middle-grade level materials. I enjoy the simplicity of the text and stories, and find I can read these aloud to interested children of even younger ages if I can abridge the text and use the illustrations to advantage. Yet the material cannot be considered light, I learned a lot of history I never knew about before reading these books, and it whetted my own appetite to investigate the topic deeper. A great compliment to this book would be Marilyn Burns' This Book is About Time.

This book was copyrighted in 1999 and originally marketed for the hoopla surrounding the excitement of the approaching year 2000, an event well before most of the intended audience of today was born. Apart from the first 2 pages and the last 2 pages which are dated, the rest of the book is a solid presentation on the history and workings of time and calendars.

Art and text are closely linked, interwoven to convey understanding of time and history. The explanation of the Mayan calendar makes full use of the text and illustrations and the reader can be allowed a "Wow! That is cool" moment as a few careful minutes of examination provide the student with an appreciation beyond the intended topic at hand.

The Chinese lunar calendar gets colorful treatment.

The description of solar, water, mechanical, and quartz clocks benefits from closely related illustrations that further enlighten the reader willing to pause from the text. A drawing of modern atomic clocks instantly reveals to the reader why we do not have one in our homes.

The discussion of time zones would have benefited from a couple of pages on the history of land and ocean travel that resulted in the coordination of time. I would like to see an update of the book that adds a couple of pages on how GPS time via cell phone and computer has influenced our modern lives.

Useful trivia that did not fit conveniently into the regular chapter text is included in an informative appendix. It would have been great if the book included a bibliography as there are several interesting topics that invite further exploration and study.

The story of time throughout recorded human history is given clear treatment in the text accompanied by beautiful, substantial illustrations which add meaning and clarity to the narrative. Sumerian, Egyptian, Babylonian, Chinese, and Mayan cultures are all given due credit in the development of time history before Arab, Greek, and Roman influences shaped our modern calendars. The role of calendars and religion is discussed for many religions around the world without condescension or cynicism.

Given that the common calendar in the Americas and Europe are based on a Christian calendar, there is discussion of Catholic and Protestant influences. The Hebrew, Islamic, Julian, Persian, Ethiopian, and Coptic calendars are given enough detail (not much, just a couple of sentences) that the casual reader will learn something new. A bibliography for this section would have been wonderful.

Well structured and informative, this book is a recommended reference should a young student need to research a report on calendars. I was tempted to give this book 5 stars, as it is very well executed, but will reserve the fifth star for an expanded 2nd edition.