London

by Neil Morris and W. G Morris

Book Overview

A beautifully illustrated and dramatic urban history lesson. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1592700136
• ISBN13: 9781592700134
• Release Date: November 2003
• Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books
• Length: 44 Pages
• Weight: 2.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 9.9" x 13.2"
• Age Range: 8 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 3 and higher

Customer Reviews

An illustrated look at the history of London town for kids

This look at "London" for the Great Cities Through the Ages series allows young readers to discover the city from its origins as the Roman town of Londinium to the modern city they can visit in the 21st century. Neil Morris shows how in between it was a trading port for the Saxons, then the royal capital for Edward the Confessor, and then the largest city in the world by 1800. Each "chapter" in the book is a two-page spread, where there is a brief paragraph of text and then most of the information is dispensed in the captions that accompany the photographs and illustrations. Morris devotes most of the chapters to specific periods in the history of the city: Londinium, Saxon and Norman London, Medieval London, Tudor and Stuart London, Georgian London, Victorian London, Early 20th Century London, London at War, Post-War London, Late 20th Century London, and London Into the 21st Century. Interspersed with these periods are sections devoted to specific aspects of London: Art, Literature, and Theater; Royal London; East and West End London; Transportation; Architectural Styles; The Thames; Multicultural London; and Sports and Leisure. For each section there is usually a main illustration, such as a busy market besides London Bridge in Medieval times or Queen Elizabeth II's coronation after WWII. But mostly there are a collection of smaller photograph and illustrations cramming a lot of information on each page. A timeline at the top of the page covers the key events that happened during the specific period being covered (there is a map of London next to the timeline and I am surprised it does not show the growth of London town as we go along). This is where we learn there was great fire in Londinium around the year 125 and that the London Eye started turning in 2000 (but it took another two years for the Millenium Bridge to reopen without wobbling). There are a lot of acts on each page and you need to keep in mind that the chronology is not consistent from page to page since topics like Transportation will cover two centuries worth of developments while the pages on London at War only cover 1939-1945. Fortunately the Index on the back page is pretty detailed so that students assigned to research a particular aspect of London should be able to find what they want within these pages, but if it does not easily fall into the categories defined by the chapter it might be difficult. The Great Cities Through the Ages series from Enchanted Lion Books is dedicated to exploring the colorful histories and striking characteristics of some of greatest cities in the world. In addition to London the other initial volumes are Paris, New York and (surprise) Venice (you were all expecting Rome, admit it). The strength is that it does provide a series of looks at the same city over time, although I would certainly like to see more maps or illustrations that give a sense for how the city was growing and changing over time. But there is still a lot of inform