The 1990s

Children's Literature - Ellen Welty

How many of us remember the launch of the World Wide Web? How many high school students will remember it? This was one of the life-changing events that occurred during the decade between 1990 and 2000 and its impact on our daily lives has been enormous. This title, part of the "Dates of a Decade" series, chronicles twenty-one such events that happened in this momentous decade. The focus of the events is largely global, particularly the first group which is listed chronologically. The last group details events specific to the United States and is not in chronological order with the rest of the events discussed. The US-specific events include the Oklahoma City bombing and the impeachment of the President. Interestingly, the Columbine High School shooting is included in the events with global focus. Each event is portrayed in a double page spread and includes an eyewitness account or a newspaper account of the incident. There is a brief bibliography for each two-page spread and there are photographs for each story. Back material includes a list of notable (or, in some cases, infamous) people of the decade with a brief biographical paragraph, a glossary, and an index. Reviewer: Ellen Welty

School Library Journal

Gr 5-8–Adapted from British titles, each of the books in this set includes 21 spreads covering events that occurred or began on specific dates. Topics are international in perspective and include politics, music, wars, technology, science, and famous people. The first 18 overviews are in chronological order, but the last 3 are out of order and appear to have been added for American appeal. All have primary-source excerpts, in-text further readings lists, and average-quality photos. The confusing format and sometimes obscure topics (“The Louvre 'Pyramid’ Opens” in 1980s, “Biafra Breaks Away from Nigeria” in 1960s) make this set of little value to most U.S. readers.