Customer Reviews

The Story of the Nile

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The "Story of the Nile" starts at the headwaters of the Nile River and works its way page by page to where the Nile empties into the ocean. Interestingly as the story proceeds, the historical periods jump around from Ancient Egypt, to the Modern period, to the Arab Conquest to Alexanderian Egypt. I found this random jumping around in historical periods be really confusing and difficult to explain to my six year old daughter. I though the content of the narrative was superficial and not especially interesting. But what saves this book from being a total failure are Steve Noon's beautifully detailed illustrations. Steve Noon is a truly gifted illustrator and the stories he portrays will fascinate both children and adults. One can only wish that Steve Noon's great artistic talents could have been harnessed to a more worthy book.

My children greatly enjoy all the books in this series, and while Anne Millard does a great job with the facts it is the art of Steve Noon that really makes these books phenomenal. Easily understood information that is very interesting appears on each page, and with characters you can follow throughout the book you can spend a long time searching for them -- which allows you to really appreciate all the other historically accurate mini-scenes that play out all over. I will admit that I have been known to look through these books even when my children aren't around. This book, and all the others in this series, should be enjoyable for all children of all ages. Even those who aren't old enough to read will still love the pictures and learn something. Older children learn quite a bit, and keep coming back to the book because there is always something new to find. I highly recommend this book, and encourage any parent to add all of them to their collection

This book is truly exceptional. The illustrations are beautiful and very detailed. My son studies this book for hours. Highly recommended!