Archaeology

Reviews provided by Syndetics

School Library Journal Review

Gr 5-8-Slim titles that provide basic information. Chapters in each book consist of a number of spreads that include several visuals of reproductions, photographs, and/or drawings of items and places mentioned in the texts. Most of the information is presented in paragraph-length summaries under separate headings and detailed captions. Archaeology discusses the science, explains what archaeologists do, and offers well-written quick information on sites around the world. Communication offers a broad overview of the topic from alphabets and animal communication to advertising and censorship. Animal begins with a double-page photo of rhinoceroses and is filled with pictures of Earth's large air, land, and sea creatures. Dinosaurs and mammoths are mentioned and many of the photos show a person next to the animal to show its relative size. All of the volumes include chapter summaries with definitions, two books for further reading, and a few Web sites-some with virtual tours. While these titles may not satisfy the demands of students writing in-depth reports, they will provide introductions to their topics.-Carol Wichman, formerly at Northridge Local Schools, Dayton, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

Reviewed with Richard Platt's Communication0 . Gr. 4-6. Combining high-interest topics with colorful, eye-catching graphics, these sweeping surveys in the Kingfisher Knowledge series are tailor-made for hooking middle-graders, casual browsers, and reluctant older readers. In Archaeology,0 Barnes talks up the excitement of hands-on study of the past in a whirlwind tour of renowned finds, from Catal Huyuk to Great Zimbabwe. Platt offers quick looks at communications media, from bee dances to DVDs, before closing with vague comments on the perils of censorship and advertising. In both volumes, text blocks and big color photos or reconstructed scenes occupy roughly equal space on topical spreads, which are grouped into chapters, each of which concludes with a terse chapter summary plus sparse assortments of book citations, URLs, and brief definitions of relevant careers. Despite a predictable skimpiness of detail, plus a few factual errors (the screw in an image of Gutenberg's press is threaded the wrong way), these make potentially popular, if not quite essential, additions. --John Peters Copyright 2004 Booklist

Horn Book Review

A blandly competent text discusses the role of archaeology in understanding the past and explains why archaeologists study everything from buried cities to human remains and garbage. Famous sites and discoveries, including Babylon, King Tut's tomb, and the Aztec temple, are introduced in the clear photos and illustrations on double-page spreads. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.