A Street Through Time: A 12,000-Year Walk Through History

This is the sort of book you can pick up and pore over repeatedly. My son got this book out of the library so many times that I just bought it. It's a great way to think about history and conveys some singularly profound ideas (history doesn't proceed directionally: people's fortunes, health, and conditions ebb and flow over time, and people were interested in "the past" even in the past). Each two-page illustration shows another chapter in European history for a single street, from the Neolithic to modern times. There are all sorts of little Easter eggs in the illustrations, like treasure being hidden, then rediscovered a few pages/historical jumps later, and a "time traveler" observing from the fringes in each picture. If you have the kid of kid who studied the details of Richard Scarry as a child or loves history, than this is a great gift. An adult can learn from it too.

From the moment my son read that Henry Hyde, the time traveling museum worker, would show up in each time period, he was hooked on this book. It kept him immersed on three car rides, each time poring over the book for 40 or so minutes. I was glad to see the interest of the "Where's Waldo" game yielded to a more general interest in the fate of this area over millennia. I only wish there were one or two more time periods between the late 1800s and now.

My son found this book at the library. Not only could he not put it down, everyone else in the house ended up taking a turn. It's amazing how the first pages start off with a camp near a river and you see through time how each error progresses. It has call outs for details on each page. This would be great for a history class as well. Personally, even as the Mom I found it fascinating. Needless to say, we returned the library book and bought our own copy.

A lot of thought & care has gone into this book. It manages to be relatively realistic about difficult topics like war & religion without frightening children (or prudish parents) & makes studying the pictures fun using slapstick moments hidden in the drawings of more serious topics. My only complaint is that inevitably it shows the exclusively western European viewpoint that predominates in almost every other history book aimed at kids (or mainstream adult audiences for that matter). That's not necessarily a bad thing since that's the starting point most Americans will be coming from, but I really wish there was a little more mention along the way of what was going in the Americas, Africa, and Asia during the same periods to give some perspective. Some partner books from those perspectives would be fantastic!That small complaint aside, here's what you'll find in the book:* The first spread shows us a Stone Age encampment alongside a river. People make canoes beside skin tipis, dogs fight over scraps, meat is hung to dry, & a shaman performs a ceremony next to a pole supporting antlers. The painting of the forest spreading out in the distance is lush & lovely.* The second spread shows us the First Farmers about 2000BCE. There is livestock, people practicing with bows & arrows, others dousing a house fire, and our first glimpse of a sacred stone circle that will remain partially visible in ongoing pages. This kind of continuity cleverly teaches an important lesson of history building on & over itself without being preachy about it.* The Iron Age spread shows people in elaborate Celtic-style plaids & tattoos. A fort has been built on a hill at back- this will go through several iterations as the pages turn. Priests throw iron weapons into the river as an offering- these will be discovered in much later pages in another example of the clever planning given to the illustrations.* In Roman Times, the village is replaced with a bustling city including schools, townhouses, & baths. Native huts have been pushed further up the hillside & some of the natives are being paraded as slaves. The fort has been modified & the ancient stone circle is partially knocked over.* In the year 600, we get The Invaders. The Roman city is reduced to a couple ruins & people are living in thatched wooden huts. In one of the little visual jokes you get throughout the book, a man in a rough brown tunic turns his back to pee against a fallen column. The fort is falling apart & a shepherd boy tries to drive off wolves with a sling.* The year 900 sees Viking Raiders. Illustrator Steve Noon paints these pages at sunset, the village lit by an orange glow that parallels the burning buildings destroyed by the Vikings. The fort has been completely overgrown & the village is centered on a stone church. A priest holds up a crucifix to try to ward off the invaders while others flee to avoid being captured as slaves. Noon does a good job of being relatively honest about the horrors of war in a visual style that is bright & cheerful enough so as not to frighten children.* The Medieval Village of the 1200s has the fort replaced with a stone castle, & the ancient stone circle partially overgrown. The hills have been plowed into agricultural fields & villagers are trading at a market. As in other pictures, certain elements are reproduced at the bottom & top of the page to point out important elements of the scene & the viewer can play a Where's Waldo to locate the mini-scene within the larger setting. An example on this spread is someone delivering reeds by boat to avoid forest outlaws.* The Medieval Town of the 1400s has new towers being added to the castle while the stone circle has been completely lost in the trees. This is another example of Noon's weaving historical truths into his illustrations in a subtle way. The disappearance of the ancient sacred site is not pointed out but some observant children are sure to notice it & ask about it, leading to good educational opportunity. The viewer is invited to guess a name for a rowdy inn based on the sign hung out front. Typical slapstick humor is provided by a fashionable couple walking unfortunately beneath a window where a woman empties a chamberpot. A boatman has accidentally dredged up one of the helmets sacrificed centuries ago by a a pagan priest.* In the 1500s, The Plague Strikes. The scene is painted at night, with the dark blue tones underlining the somber situation. Soldiers are blockading people from leaving the town, a brave priest tends to the dying, & an apothecary attempts to discover a cure.* In the 1600s, the town is Under Attack. Noon casually says that it is due to "disputes over territory & new ideas about religion". Again, he does not preach about the situation, but also doesn't think that kids need the kind of purely saccharine story that will only make them write off history as boring fairy tales. The castle is being burned & bombed, as are all the buildings of the town. People are hiding & an innkeeper is being threatened by pikes, but no actual murders nor tortures are portrayed. A couple soldiers lie face down, one cries out in pain & grasps his arm, one is hit by a falling sign. It is up to the adult sharing the book with a child to decide how graphic a description of war the child is ready for. The illustration itself looks bright & adventurous & would be unlikely to frighten any but the smallest children.* In Age of Elegance, the wealthy trade in wigs while others sells goods in the streets or sweep chimneys for a living. The castle is in ruins & the leading family has moved to a Lord's mansion further up the hill.* In the Grim Times of the early 1800s, children work while a man sits with a newspaper over his head to catch the leaks from a ceiling he can't afford to fix. A barge delivers coal from the mines depicted far off in the distance to fire the factories which belch smoke over the top of the illustration.* In the late 1800s, we move From Town to City. The city is a-bustle with new inventions like a steam engine in its own train station, a postman from the new, cheap postal service, & a man with a camera taking photos. The Lord's mansion has been joined by a pile of houses spreading into the growing suburbs.* Finally, The Street Today has high-rises in the suburbs, businesspeople using cell phones & computers, and, importantly, the castle ruins now serving as a heritage site in the center of the modern city.The final pages have a timeline that does address world history, & a glossary of terms.

The write ups on this book caught my eye so I ordered it for my 8 and 11 year old grandchildren. They enjoyed seeing the change in an area throughout the years as did my 32 year old daughter and her husband. I found myself engrossed in the pictures, related facts and historic transition over time. I am sure this will be a book that my grandchildren will refer to as they continue to take history classes. The book will bring history to life.

My granddaughter is 9, and becoming very interested in history, and in comparing today with yesterday. I thought this book would be a hit with her, and it was. While she got quite a few very interesting gifts, when the initial frenzy was over, I saw her sitting quietly, leafing back and forth through 'A Street Through Time'. There is plenty of detail in every page, and enough information to satisfy her thirst for information. I recommend this book for any child in the third grade.

A great book. A simple and articulate perspective on he different stages of civilization., European civilization. A great coffee table book for any age.My only gripe: I wish they had included the Greeks rather than just the romans.

I Purchased this book as a gift for our 10 year old grandson. However, the entire family enjoyed reading it. By describing one city, it illustrates how our world has evolved in a way that is easy for children to understand. It would be appropriate for younger children as well.

It has incredible illustrations with fun things to spot and exiting facts. I am 8 years old and have read it 3 times already in the past 12 hours. It starts off in a Neolithic settlement then every time you turn the page , the street has changed slightly. I would definitely recommend it for children who like history and enjoy 'spotting' books. It's probably my favourite non-fiction book.

Fantastic book ! My 8 year old loved it!!!

Me encanta. Fantásticos los dibujos. Ideal para introduciendo a tus hijos en lo que es la historia. Genial el detalle de meter un "viajero del tiempo" escondido en cada dibujo. El libro arranca en el año 10.000 antes de cristo y acaba en nuestra época. Imprescindible.

Ce livre est exactement comme j'avais attendu. Parfait pour mon fils de 6 ans qui veut tout savoir sur l'histoire et les modes de vie des anciens peuples. Les images magnifiques parlent d'elles memes, et sinon le texte est adapte aux plus jeunes lecteurs curieux (a partir du CP). Il y a des petits consignes de recherche dans le grand image et un "voyageur du temps" qui retourne sur chaque page, comme une sorte de Charlie.Je suis tres contente!

We loved this, the illustrations were excellent, the content interesting ...our grandchildren will love it. We would recommend it as a gift and a delightful way of presenting history.