Editorial Review
SLJ Review of Cities Through Time
These titles survey the history of cities from ancient to modern times. Seven important dates are highlighted, each with a few sentences of information in colorfully illustrated spreads. A cartoon character adds a fun fact on some pages. Coverage spans over 1,000 years, so the seven dates can offer just snippets of history, which can be hard to follow without context or background knowledge.
We learn that India rebelled against British rule in 1857, for example (Delhi), but are not told how the British came to power there. The changes at a page turn can be abrupt: in one spread, tanks and soldiers are invading Iraq in 2003, while the next section jumps to a cheering crowd at a soccer stadium in 2022 (Baghdad).
VERDICT: While the illustrations are appealing, covering such wide time spans with sparse information limits usefulness for young readers.