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Overview
This comprehensive full-color reference book introduces Biblical times by comparing the lives of well-to-do Egyptians with those of poor Israelites. Detailed illustrations and fact-filled text will engage readers while presenting true-to-life tales of this fascinating period.Children are quickly transported to the ancient lands described in the Bible when they open If You Were There: Biblical Times, by Antony Mason, illus. by Michael Welply and others. The jam-packed spreads of this nonfiction work describe the life and times of people who lived and worked in Egypt, Canaan, Lebanon, Mesopotamia and surrounding areas in the Middle East. Everything from food and clothing to tools, religions, lodging and the weather is discussed and illustrated. Though the artwork is a tad static, children will take away from this title a new appreciation for, and perhaps interest in, biblical stories. The included index, timeline and pull-out game board are also excellent reinforcements.
Editorials
School Library Journal
Gr 3-6In these large, colorfully illustrated books, each double-page spread offers a short paragraph of historical background, surrounded by several full-color, captioned illustrations, sidebars, and other descriptive nuggets. This supplemental information is valid and interesting, describing artifacts, tools, buildings, social customs, and folkways. Unfortunately, the quality of the basic texts do not match that of the additional information. They are simplistic, occasionally misleading, and possibly incorrect. Biblical Times follows a rough chronological order from 800 B.C. to the Rome of the early Christians (A.D. 300). Information seems to have been taken from various versions of the Bible, with little attempt to compare and contrast archaeological discoveries and recorded historical fact with religious doctrine, myths, and legends. Statements such as "the Israelites...passed through...the Sinai Peninsula, where God gave their leader, Moses, the Ten Commandments," or Jesus's "first miracle took place at a marriage feast, when he turned water into fine wine," are not differentiated from historical fact. Jonathan Tubb's Bible Lands (Knopf, 1991) covers the same subject in greater detail and emphasizes archaeological discoveries and recorded history. Medieval Times discusses lords and ladies, village life, food and feasting, etc. The brevity of the text leaves questions unanswered, and Mason does not attempt to relate historical developments to their various causes and effects. Sarah Howarth's What Do We Know about the Middle Ages (1996) and Giovanni Caselli's History of Everyday Things: The Middle Ages (1988; o.p., both Peter Bedrick) cover this period in much greater detail.Susan L. Rogers, Chestnut Hill Academy, PABook Details
Published
October 1, 1996
Publisher
New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1996.-
Pages
29
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780689809538