The Mayas

School Library Journal

Gr 5-7-- Graced by attractive full-color illustrations and photographs, these books feature one- and two-page sections recounting notable aspects of each civilization: agriculture, writing, warfare, and facets of daily life. What they lack are bibliographies; other fine books have been written about these ancient civilizations, and interested readers will want to go beyond the rather dry descriptions found here. Odijk admirably renders the facts, but her prose fails to unify or to dramatize the stories of two remarkable cultures. Another unfortunate deficiency is the lack of adequate maps; the single map in The Sumerians does not include all of the cities mentioned in the text. To go beyond the basics, Carolyn Meyer and Charles Gallenkamp's The Mystery of the Ancient Maya (McElderry, 1985) is a good choice. --David N. Pauli, Missoula Public Library, MT