kukushka's review

Go to review page

3.0

Another entry from my mother's biography collection from the 1950s (the first beingĀ William the Conqueror).

This, along with the one about Odysseus that I'm sure I'll be reading eventually, were my childhood favs. As I was reading this book to my son, I was surprised by how many of the stories and pictures were carved into my memory.

That said, it isn't terribly great. The writing style is a bit clunky, and the scenes themselves aren't nearly as evocative as they could be. I had hoped to infect my child with some of my enthusiasm for the Mongols, but this book failed to capture his interest (even when I tried to supplement it with a Crash Course History video!).

Still, it's not a bad primer for interested kids, especially in a market that has so little world history offerings for the early/middle readers.
More...