Cities and Citizens

School Library Journal

Gr 4-5-These volumes provide smatterings of information about life in ancient Greece. Builders focuses on the efforts of the people who built the Parthenon; the craftsmen who made clothing, statues, and pottery; and the merchants who traded goods for grain. Cities discusses city-states with particular mention of Athens and Sparta, then focuses on the citizens and their interests. Several pages on the theater and acting, as well as the Greek love for sports, are included. Both titles note the role of women in this ancient society. Illustrations are mediocre, relying on full-color stock photos, color drawings, and simple maps. Anne Pearson's Ancient Greece (Knopf, 1992) and Everyday Life in Ancient Greece (Watts, 1994) and Rosemary Rees's The Ancient Greeks (Heinemann Library, 1998) cover similar material in a more organized manner.-Cathryn A. Camper, Minneapolis Public Library Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.