The Pyramids of Giza

Children's Literature - Gisela Jernigan

A true reference book detailing the various stages behind the building of the Pyramids of Giza: from leveling the desert floor to orienting the pyramids to transporting the stones. Never mind the lengthy discussion on the processes involved with the actual construction and the numerous theories surrounding how it was done. Organized in a textbook style, this book is suitable for any young adult classroom or library. Nevertheless, illustrations are in black-and-white which gives the book a dull presentation. It may be difficult to inspire teenagers to pick up this book, particularly outside a school setting.

Children's Literature - Sheree van Vreede

A true reference book detailing the various stages behind the building of the Pyramids of Giza, from leveling the desert floor, to orienting the pyramids to transporting stones. Never mind the lengthy discussion on the processes involved with the actual construction and the numerous theories surrounding how it was done. Organized in a textbook style, this book is suitable for any young adult classroom or library. Nevertheless, illustrations are in black and white and match the text which give the book a dull presentation. It may be difficult to inspire teenagers to pick up this book, particularly outside a school setting.

School Library Journal

Gr 6-8It takes monumental effort to build a monument. These two volumes investigate what it took to build the pyramids of Egypt and the Great Wall of China. Both books are dense with information; they answer many questions on building techniques (known and hypothesized) and provide background history for the constructions. Sometimes there's almost too much information here. It's hard to remember which leaders built what because much of the material is similar and repetitive. The design of the books is lackluster, and the drab black-and-white photos do little to spice up the texts when they drag. Most readers will prefer James Putnam's Pyramid (Knopf, 1994) or Jacqueline Morley's An Egyptian Pyramid (Peter Bedrick, 1991) for their more attractive illustrations. But there's little besides Leonard Everett Fisher's The Great Wall of China (Macmillan, 1986) on the Chinese world wonder, and that covers much less, and addresses a younger audience, than McNeese's more substantial volume.Cathryn A. Camper, Minneapolis Public Library