A Street Through Time [Hardcover]

Anne Millard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 9, 1998 | Grade Level: Preschool and up | Lexile Measure: 680L (What's this?)

Demonstrating the unfolding of history, panoramic views visiting a particular site every few centuries follow the evolution of a Stone Age riverside settlement into a twentieth-century city. A bold title and date with a few sentences describing significant changes appears in the upper-right-hand corner of each broad vertical scene. Added statements wind around the four borders, offering details about daily life of the period and inviting readers to search for significant activities among the many small vignettes in the larger view. Tiny figures busy at daily life offer an engaging chronicle of human experience over time as invaders and disease take their toll or more peaceful times bring prosperity and growth. The hypothetical street is in an unnamed European setting; Romans, Barbarians, Vikings, and the plague alter the fortunes of in-habitants. Some of the historical milestones represented by the fourteen segments are not so far apart, while long stretches of time separate others. It's a very telescopic view, compressing the rich complexities of history into a few glimpses, but there's plenty of human interest in the passing scene to keep readers poring over the shifting yet similar pursuits of people over time. The timeline construct is a useful demonstration for children, and the busy vistas would make a fine springboard for encouraging students to create scenes of local history.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-8-This oversize volume features full-color panoramic drawings of the same riverside European location at 14 different periods from the Stone Age to modern times. Each double-page spread includes a brief paragraph of description, while page borders provide summary overviews and scenes to locate. Some details are labeled. However, this is a book that relies primarily on its illustrations to convey information about the evolution of the site from a settlement to a city and the many eras (Viking, Roman, Medieval, etc.) that are represented. The coverage is so broad and the details are so small that it is often difficult to impossible to interpret what is being conveyed. While some young readers may find these views intriguing, others will find them frustrating and overwhelming.
Rosie Peasley, Empire Union School District, Modesto, CA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 3^-6. With each turn of its elongated pages, this imaginative volume graphically reveals the continuity of history. Beginning in the year 10,000 B.C., in a Stone Age hunters' camp, the book reveals how its riverfront location is key to the site's development. This primitive camp is the germ of the modern, bustling, big-city street viewed in the concluding double-page spread. In between, each panoramic image of this same locale witnesses significant achievements of each spotlighted epoch. The view from the Iron Age of 600 B.C. makes clear the impact of iron tools and weapons, and the next page jumps to A.D. 100 when the Roman influence means large stone buildings, a bridge, and an elaborate lifestyle. The medieval centuries draw repeated attention: first, the street as part of a village is visited in the 1200s; increased prosperity and growth see the village blossom into a town in the 1400s; the scene of the 1500s, eerily painted at night, intensifies the grisly realities of the Black Plague of that era. The text is printed in the borders, surrounding the pages and serving as a guide through the elaborately detailed illustrations, where keen-eyed readers can spot elements of humor and everyday life portrayed by the diminutive residents peopling the pages. There are also Where's Waldotype gimmicks to make a game of gleaning the most information from the busy artwork. A fun and effective way to lure youngsters into the study and enjoyment of history. Ellen Mandel

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: DK CHILDREN; annotated edition edition (November 9, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789434261
• ISBN-13: 978-0789434265
• Product Dimensions: 14 x 0.4 x 10.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #425,302 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Rich pleasure on many levels February 6, 2002

By Avid Rita

Format:Hardcover

I've had to buy a second copy of this wonderful book for my 14 year old son. He was deeply distressed when, thinking he'd outgrown it, I'd passed our first copy on to his school. The recommended age range is far too narrow, for adults have enjoyed it as a coffee table book as much as six year old visitors who find the transformation of years magical. My own children were impressed that civilizations do not always progress forward -- "The Invaders" and "The Plague Strikes" gave them a more dynamic sense of history. The fine illustrations pull the reader in, the rendering of characters give each of them full personality and interest. My kids generally have very limited interest in non-fiction; this one remains a favorite of their collection.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly superb book for both children and adults May 2, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

I originally bought this book for my older child, but my 4 year old son keeps this book glued to his side! I love the wonderful, detailed illustrations as well as the fascinating historical content. It brings to life the changes that occurred in a city in a way that words sometimes find hard to express, with a humor that children and adults alike will find charming. It has become one of my favorite books!

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars the kind of book that brings history to life January 7, 2003

By audrey TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is not a history text; it will not give you factoids or dates. But it will enliven your appreciation of the passage of time and the continuity of human existence. This is a large but lightweight book. Each page is approximately 13 by 10 inches, and each of the fourteen depictions are shown in a two-page spread of about 26 inches by 10. The site depicted is an area near a waterway, presumably in the English midlands, and the eras shown are 10,000 BCE, showing a winter settlement of Stone Age hunters; 2000 BCE, an early farming settlement; 600 BCE, the Iron Age; AD 100, during Roman occupation; 600, after the collapse of Roman civilization to barbarian invaders; 900, after the Viking raids; 1200s, a medieval village; 1400s, a medieval town; 1500s, during the Bubonic Plague; 1600s, during a time of religious wars; 1700s, the Regency period; early 1800s, the beginning of industrialization; late 1800s, a thriving city; and finally, a modern city. In successive time periods we see objects and buildings from the last era in ruins or having been adapted for other uses. We see that some things never change (boating or imbibing, for example) while others change markedly (technology, cleanliness, etc.), and that to "progress" is not always to move forward.

A fun book with lively cross-section watercolor drawings that will bring the concept of history to life, this book will lose some relevance for North American readers (who might also enjoy Gail Gibbons' FROM PATH TO HIGHWAY about the Boston Post Road through history), but it is still eminently worthwhile and enjoyable.