Timeline: A Visual History of our World

Timeline: A Visual History of Our World
by Peter Goes
Gecko Press, 2015. Informational.

History can be tricky. Young readers are awfully good at understanding isolated events or learning about individuals, but the full scope of our history can be (understandably) daunting. The most sweeping history books tend to be hulking, text-dense volumes that can leave a reader intimidated and discouraged.

Timeline shatters those notions. This is a book that covers the span of earth's history from the Big Bang to the rise of ISIS, but its greatest strength is its accessibility. Goes dominates his pages with illustrated material, depicting his timeline as a sort-of road on which events, creatures, and people unfold. Each page focuses on a time period, and explanatory text and captions appear organically along the images, curving with them in a seamless experience. The book also remains objective in its telling of history, but it doesn't shy away from the past's more challenging eras. Conflict and injustice are presented, given just as much emphasis as our triumphs.

Goes, a Belgian illustrator, does not offer editorial interjections on events, nor does he push a Eurocentric view of the world. North American history and Asian history and African history and all the rest are featured here, and Timeline acknowledges this grand scope -- human history, not simply one culture's story. The result is a book that accurately reflects our species' ability to grow ever better and closer while still acknowledging the work we've done and have yet to do.

Comments

Display: Dino-mite Reads

Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs By Mo Willems New York: Balzar + Bray, 2012. Picture Book. "Once upon a time, there were three hungry Dinosaurs: Papa Dinosaur, Mama Dinosaur . . . and a Dinosaur who happened to be visiting from Norway. One day--for no particular reason--they decided to tidy up their house, make the beds, and prepare pudding of varying temperatures. And then--for no particular reason--they decided to go . . . someplace else. They were definitely not setting a trap for some succulent, unsupervised little girl. Definitely not!" --Editor Smart Vs. Strong! Written by Jill Esbaum Illustrated by Miles Thompson New York: Simon Spotlight, 2021. Easy Reader. 64 pages. "When Thunder gets stuck in quicksand, Cluck uses his smarts to free his friend." --Editor How Dinosaurs Went Extinct Written by Ame Dyckman Illustrated by Jennifer Harney New York: Brown and Company, 2023. Picture Book. "When a child in a museum asks how dinosaurs became extinct, Dad co

From Story Time: The Letter "W"

Preschool Time Something Wild By Molly Ruttan New York: Nancy Paulsen Books, 2022. Picture Book. Hannah's performance jitters about her violin recital lead to some imaginative what ifs before she finds her confidence. --Editor Preschool Time There's a Dodo on the Wedding Cake Written by Wade Bradford Illustrated by Kevin Hawkes Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2021. Picture Book. For his return visit to the wacky Sharemore Hotel, Mr. Snore will be playing his violin at a fancy wedding. As he waits for his cue to join the ceremony, he admires the wedding cake . . . and notices that he's not alone in ogling that tower of frothy perfection. Is that a dodo, eating one of the frosting roses? As more and more creatures enter the scene--including two beavers, a boa constrictor, and a bunch of bats--it's hard to tell who's a guest and who's a pest. But Mr. Snore, rushing the cake trolley from room to room, is going to do his heroic best to save that prize from sure d

Review: How Does Chocolate Taste on Everest?

How Does Chocolate Taste on Everest? Written by Leisa Stewart-Sharpe Illustrated by Aaron Cushley Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge, 2023. Informational. In this fascinating nonfiction adventure, unique forms of transportation like hot air balloons and zeppelins take readers to 12 of the most extreme locations on Earth and beyond. As the adventurer arrives in each new locale, from Lake Maracaibo--the world's most electric place--to Zavodovski Island--the world's stinkiest place--they are fully immersed into the scene around them. The text describes the distinctive sounds, sights, smells, tastes, and sensations characteristic to each place, supported by the delightful illustrations. Each stop also shares stories of real adventurers braving the elements. Readers big and small will learn something new in this exciting armchair adventure. The real adventurer anecdotes highlight both well-known and less-discussed figures, of diverse backgrounds and abilities. The illustrations provide ev

Provo Library Children's Book Blog

Search This Blog