The Sumerians (The Cradle of Civilization) (Hardcover)

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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 Description

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

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• 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: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #186,072 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	Donna (USA) - See all my reviews

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!