Grade 5 Up-Under the guise of being a guide for young tourists to 1929 Chicago, this series entry offers a you-were-there journey to an important period in American history. Of course, readers must be sophisticated enough to be able to place themselves in the contemporary state of mind of Prohibition, Pullman porters, fancy department stores, Louis Armstrong, Frank Lloyd Wright, "meatpacking moguls," black (not African American, authentically) baseball, ordinances against flesh-colored bathing suits, and-needless to say-gangsters. Chicagoans with a keen eye will notice some incorrect details. For example, the Newberry Library has never been "public" in the sense that it is presented here, the Orpheum Theatre is misspelled, and at one point State Street is incorrectly identified as Dearborn Street. For certain, if this were a true travel guide, many more maps would be required, as well as keys and directions, but those that are present, in addition to the period photos and illustrations, are appropriate and clear. In addition to presenting information, this unique title could serve as a model for an interesting history project, adaptable for any size community.
Andrew Medlar, Chicago Public Library, IL
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"In the format and tone of today's travel guides, the present-tense text is engaging and friendly. The plentiful photographs, reproductions, diagrams, and maps interspersed throughout are mostly black and white. A serviceable addition...for students."
-- School Library Journal (April 2003) (School Library Journal 20030301)<br /><br />"This is an enjoyable approach to history and definitely succeeds in transporting students to another place and time."
-- School Library Journal (April 2003) (School Library Journal )<br /><br />"This series is written in the style of a tourist's guidebook, each chapter dealing with a particular topic of interest to a tourist. Modern distances, temperature units, and other measurements are used, though to make the facts easier for students to understand. A lot of information is packed into this slim book's 112 pages. In fact, nearly every page of the book has an illustration or a sidebar. Recommended."
--Library Media Connection (March 2003) (Library Media Connection )
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