Story of the illustrations History is.. Walking to Waltham Abbey History in stitches |
|
From Schools Library Association - Winter 2009Permission to include this has been requested Our Story: An illustrated History of 1066 ‘4 Kings, 3 battles, 2 invasions, and 1 throne’:
this crisp summary of the year 1066 appears at the beginning of this unusual,
and yes, excellent history book for children in the later primary years. The
cover tells us that ‘History’ is ‘Ourstory’, and this book is certainly about
one of the most important years in that story. What makes this such a good
book? First the account is a full one covering, amongst other things, the dispute about who should rule after Edward the Confessor’s death, Harold Godwin’s problems with the rest of his family, the Battle of Hasting and William the Conqueror’s coronation. And young readers are helped through a complicated story by the inclusion of family trees, a glossary and references to websites.
A third and crucial thing in this book’s favour is
the quality of the narration, which is lucid, accessible and, above all,
engrossing. Are the illustrations a fourth strength? Their manga style will not appeal to everybody but many children will find them helpful and entertaining. And they show the role of the visual in explaining history – character and motivation are shown in gesture and facial expression. The illustrator has also taken some pains over the historical accuracy. For example the picture showing a coffin (containing weapons rather than a body) being used to hold open a town’s gates and thus ‘allowing Harold’s soldiers to rush in and capture it, I based on a reliable source and I typical of Harold’s character’.
Copyright School Library Association Visit the SLA website |
Interesting links Events
|
|