The Sumerians (The Cradle of Civilization) [Hardcover]

Elaine Landau (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up

Examines Sumer, the earliest advanced society to emerge from Mesopotamia, including its contributions in written language, farming, art, and science.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-7?Useful, solid information for report writers. Each of these titles introduces the history and culture of an empire that was influential in the development of Mesopotamia. They all begin with the same chapter describing the prehistoric tribal origins that led to the rise of more powerful, organized city-states and cultures during the early history of the Middle East. Subsequent chapters focus on the rise and ultimate demise of the specific empire. The texts are lucid, smoothly written, and easy to understand. Large type; open pages; and frequent use of maps, full-color and black-and-white photographs and illustrations of artifacts and architecture enhance the readability and usefulness of these titles. Topics covered include daily life and customs of different classes; social roles; notable rulers and their accomplishments; advances made in law, the arts, agriculture, and sciences; and factors leading to the decline of that empire. A good complement to these books is Clarice Swisher's The Ancient Near East (Lucent, 1995), which does a commendable job of tying these Mesopotamian cultures together, giving readers better insight into the development of early Middle Eastern civilization up to the conquest by Alexander the Great.?Cynthia M. Sturgis, Ledding Library, Milwaukee, OR
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Millbrook Press (August 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761302158
• ISBN-13: 978-0761302155
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #993,981 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm a children's book author and writing coach who loves both children and books. I've never been much of a fiction fan, I've spent my time both reading and writing nonfiction. I live in tropical Miami with my husband and son who are nonfiction lovers as well.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Sumerian Disappointment, May 8, 2000

By 

Donna - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sumerians (The Cradle of Civilization) (Hardcover)

While there are not many books on Sumeria for this age group, I found this one lacking. The editorial review from Horn book is somewhat misleading, I believe. This particular book is about the Sumerians. The Assyrians and Babylonians are covered in two other books!

There are 14 illustrations including one map, photos of artifacts, and photos of present day sites related to the Sumerians. Compared with other publishers like Kingfisher, Dorling-Kindersley, etc., I would not say there were detailed illustrations in this book. The photos are of good quality, yet we have seen most of these in other sources. I also thought that the Sumerian ziggurats from ancient times were thought to have been square rather than the round style pictured in this book.

The information about the Sumerian inventions of the wheel and time is given in two small paragraphs on two pages--not much detail! There is other information about their way of life that is interesting.

The type is slightly larger with large space between lines and wide margins. It is easy on the eyes for children to read.

The text on the first five pages in the three Landau books is virtually the same. The only major difference is the map is changed for whichever topic--Sumerians, Assyrians, or Babylonians--is being covered. The map is well done, however, not all locations are shown. While Babylonia conquered Sumer, and Babylon is mentioned in the text, it is not shown on the map in the Sumerians book.

Paging starts on page 9, text through page 52, timeline text of Important Dates pp. 53-54 (not facing pages), Notes p. 55 (bibliography?), Glossary pp. 57-58 (no pronunciation information though), Further Reading pp. 59-60, and Index pp. 61-63 (nice touch). So for a 64-page book there is only 43 pp. of text, and the format is smaller than usual, too.

This means there is not a lot of detail in any of the information. The history necessarily skips a lot. Because these cultures do interact with each other, I think it might have been better to publish a combined text.

My children (ages 4-13) did listen to me read this to them, but it was not written in a very interesting style. Because of the lack of detail covered, I think this book would be better if read to the 6-9 age group. Or read by them, if they can read well enough!

3.0 out of 5 stars Not that great, September 2, 2011

By 

Will Riddle "and Jaime Riddle" (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sumerians (The Cradle of Civilization) (Hardcover)

I agree with the other reviewer that this book was disappointing. I didn't have a negative view of it exactly, but it is definitely not as good as Jane SHuter's "The Sumerians" or other works on Ancient Mesopotamia.

I also agree that the formatting was probably the worst aspect of the text. You think you're picking up a late grammar stage book, but the text is so thick that a third grader really can't keep at it. The font is a good size and the real life photography on each page is great (especially the modern day ziggurat). But the chapters just go on and on with no headings. My son who loves this subject did not stick with the book, and I wasn't up to reading it aloud.

I am not saying that fancy formatting makes a book worth it in itself, but this one needs some. It also only has four chapters: In the Beginning, as Sumer grew, Writing/Education/Law, and Sumer at Work. Somehow something just makes it not come together.

ALthough if you like some of the older authors like Lila Perl, who also doesn't format much, with more modern day photos than kid-friendly ones, this wouldn't be a bad addition. I think I would rent it rather than purchase it though, and while it is simple, keep it to children older than 10.