Grade 2-6?Costumes and customs relating to weddings around the world and across time are presented in this lavishly illustrated easy-to-read introduction. Carefully detailed pastel drawings invite examination and comparison. They show an assortment of wedding trivia from times and places as diverse as medieval Japan, 18th-century Italy, and present-day Indonesia, and cultures as unfamiliar as those of the Masai, medieval Oriental Jewry, and 19th-century Quakers and Hopis. Traditions familiar to American television watchers and readers of spring newspaper bridal sections are also included. The information has been organized into sections covering engagement tokens, wedding dresses, hair and makeup, family and friends, symbols and traditions, and oddities. Further tidbits about traditional foods appear in "Did You Know" inserts.?Kathleen Isaacs, Edmund Burke School, Washington, DC
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Gr. 3^-5. This oversize, heavily illustrated picture book discusses brides and wedding customs from around the world. Full pages of text introduce a topic such as bridal attire, hair and makeup, or family and friends; each of the following two-or four-page spreads features illustrations and snippets of text that show how these customs are carried out in different cultures. For instance, after an overview of symbols and traditions, the spread shows a medieval bouquet of various herbs to ward off evil spirits. Boxes of "factoids" add trivia but clutter the layout. The problem with information in such overviews is that it's often too general. The book notes that in a Jewish ceremony "the groom puts the veil on the bride before she walks down the aisle," but this is not common in most Jewish American weddings. Much of the text is written as if the customs described happen at every wedding in a particular society. The art varies from quite handsome, as in the case of a Malaysian bride, to stiff and awkward, as in a cameo of a bride's parents. Despite the book's flaws, girls will probably enjoy reading it--if ever there was a book for girls, this is it. Ilene Cooper
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