Book Description

Discover the ancient Maya culture with these fun games and activities!

Make a Maya pyramid. Mix up a Chili Chocolate Drink. Create a macaw headdress. While reading The Maya, you’ll have a great time exploring the cultural traditions of this innovative people as you learn to write in the Mayan language, make a mosaic jade mask in the likeness of one of their rulers, and test your skills as you play Maya games.

This book is filled with activities and projects that will show you how the Maya people lived and played, as well as how they managed to create a civilization that lasted almost 4,000 years! You’ll learn about the bravery of Maya warriors as you construct a war shield. You’ll discover how to read ancient Maya hieroglyphs and even create your own glyph rubbing, just like the scribes used to do! You’ll get to solve math problems using Maya numbers–and then come up with your own problems to try on your friends! Plus, you’ll find lots of amazing Maya facts on topics ranging from history and government to foods and arts to science and architecture. So be prepared for lots of fun as you discover the ancient secrets of The Maya. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A useful, colorful, and inexpensive (!) title
It's hard to find good books on El Salvador that aren't about the war, and believe me, I've looked! My husband is Salvadoran and I'm a Spanish teacher trying to show there's more to Central America than just Costa Rica. The two good children's books our library carries were written back when the war was still going on, and I've been looking for a newer book to recommend as a library acquisition. Now I have at least one entry for my list, and the paperback version is a bargain for any home library as well.

The book has only 32 pages, so while it touches on many subjects, each only gets a two-page spread. Within these limitations, though, the book presents useful information in a narrative form and with minimal bias. The "struggle and civil war" section does a remarkably good job of giving background behind conflicts such as La Guerra de Fútbol ("the Soccer War"). The section on "Native Peoples" gives a good treatment of the assimilation of these groups, with a look at the Pipíl and Lenca peoples in the present day. The book's discussion of the post-peace agreement period is very general, and despite the 2002 copyright, no mention is made of the devastating earthquakes of January and February, 2001; I can only assume the book had already gone to press.

Halfway through the book, the book changes from a general overview into a more vignette-style presentation of selected topics under the usual headings ("Music and Dance," etc.). The section on family traditions, for example, gives one or two paragraphs each to baptisms, birthdays, quinceañeras, folk beliefs and "curanderas" (folk healers). In these sections, the presentation is a bit haphazard, but still provides worthwhile material. The arts and crafts section includes the role of cooperatives and political art; another topic, "The Flavors of El Salvador," brings food into a detailed and interesting depiction of daily life. The only part of the book I didn't care for is the ending, a fictional episode of a family visit; it tries a little too hard to tie in every kind of cultural topics via stilted and unnatural dialogue. The youngest readers probably won't mind, but upper elementary and middle schoolers would roll their eyes.

The "Life in the Countryside" section is a treasure. The pictures show everyday life much as I saw it when I went to visit my in-laws in early 2002. Nearly every sentence has some detail that made me shout with recognition, such as the mention of using car batteries to power TVs and radios. Oddly, the book doesn't mention the solar collectors powering the batteries, an interesting topic for kids. Also, the book mentioned the scarcity of vehicles, indoor plumbing, and electricity, yet said nothing about phones. A country with so many expatriates is a country that cares a LOT about phones, and life has been profoundly affected by a boom in cell-phones in "el campo," where a phone call used to require an hourlong walk to town.

While this series only covers 22 countries so far, the publishers have wisely avoided the tactic of presenting all the "usual suspects" before getting to the lesser known countries. It's refreshing to see countries like Nigeria and the Philippines among these titles -- you expect that with long-running series that cover every single country, but for a series that only covers a fraction of the world's peoples, it's nice to see someone went beyond the obvious. ... Read more

Amazon.com

When writer Sara Cameron went on assignment to Colombia to write aUNICEF report about the Children's Movement for Peace to submit to the NobelPeace Prize Committee, she was skeptical: "I didn't believe that children coulddo anything substantial to help peace." But she was soon convinced by thesincere teen leaders of the movement who had been through hell and lived to tellabout it. Colombia is a country that has been torn apart by guerilla warfare,illegal drug trade, and gang violence for more than 40 years. In the late 1990s,guided by civic and religious leaders, the children and teens of Colombiadecided to try and do what the adults of their country could not: make peace.Besides writing her report for UNICEF, Cameron collected these first-personaccounts of nine young leaders of the movement, all of whose lives have beentainted by violence. Heartbreaking examples include 18-year-old Juan Elias,whose father was murdered right in his own office, and 16-year-old Mayerly,whose best friend was stabbed to death in a gang war. Still, these youngleaders--despite threats by armed gangs and extreme poverty--organize peacerallies, speak publicly at schools, and lead workshops for other displaced orabused children. Sad, but ultimately triumphant, these stories will both inspireand shame the teens of First World nations who read them--shame them by showinghow much of their lives they take for granted, and inspire them to do more withthe resources and relationships they have been blessed with. The book includesan author's note and a list of resources to learn more about the Children'sMovement for Peace. (Ages 12 and older) --Jennifer Hubert ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Out of War
This nonfiction book is a collection of personal accounts of nine children who took one look at their beloved war-torn Columbia, saw how it was affecting the people around them and their families, and walked down the path to the right to live in a peaceful environment.
From each body comes a different voice, a different problem. Even though these nine children live in Columbia, each of them is affected, and how each child chooses to go about solving their problem is different. Some of these children face abuse by their parents or siblings, other face the travesties of watching a loved one being tortured to death by the local gangs.
Through thick and thin these children fight for peace in their country. That's one of the things that make this book a good one. I think that it's really cool how all the children who were involved in the Children's Movement stood up for what they believed in, even though that they knew the dangers of trying to stand up to the dangerous rebels. That takes true courage for kids to take on a cause that involves a whole country.
One of the things that I gained from this book is that I think that American news is drummed up a little too much. All channels like NBC 5 report about what is bad in America because it will sell, and when they report on something good like medicinal breakthroughs, the medicine has all the weird side effects that might possibly kill you. I thought that watching this at 10' o clock was depressing, but then in one child's section I read a description of the news. Basically it showed me how many people had been captured by the rebel gangs, the truly sad part was when the rebels allowed their prisoner's of war to speak on television. I would hate to see one of my loved ones on T.V talking about how he or she was safe, when I could sense that something was really wrong. I believe that is slightly worse then seeing a dead person's fuzzy picture on the news.
Another thing that I gained from Out of War was that we should be grateful that we have a justice system, a constitution, and a police force to protect our government from being ruled by rebel gangs or power hungry dictators. We are also fortunate that our country's government isn't in such disarray like Columbia's.
Do you know what barrio means? It means a district. At the beginning of the book when Juan was talking, I didn't know what that means. So I kept on reading it in context and finally looked it up. Barrio means district. Even though while I was reading the book I may have not know what the word meant, but when I looked it up in a Spanish dictionary, I felt as if Juan was trying to share his culture with me, not just writing to tell a story, but enrich people on their daily use of common words. When Maverly was using Spanish words, I felt I was walking right along side her as she told the story, actually looking through her eyes. Another thing interesting thing about the format was the aftermath written by Sara Cameron, who had taken her time to follow up on these children's lives. It was interesting to me to see how each kid had grown up and how they were still helping the movement in different ways.
If you want to be informed about what is going on in Columbia, and how these nine children walked down the path to peace, then Out of War is the right book for you. Maybe it'll give you the idea to help out a war torn country in the future, or maybe give you the courage to fight against something you think is wrong and have a better solution.

Young adults drowning in rural and urban war
This book confirms Colombia's intimate relationship with war. However, "Out of War; True Stories From the Front Lines," offers a frightening new dimension of the conflict. Author Sara Cameron documents the tragic lifes of young poor Colombians who are disgusted with the violence and seek to reduce the warfare by fostering a better understanding of peace.

On the one hand, this book is uplifting. It is a sparkling display of courage. However, sprinkled throughout nearly each narrative is the reality that death is always present and that the violent actors still continue the pattern of killing unarmed civilians. The reality is so great that not one of the young poor adults that writes a testimony of how the conflict has impacted them dares to point a finger to whom is responsible for the murder and intimidation. All are careful to remain neutral and not trigger the anger of those responsible for the ruthless violence in Colombia.

Hats off to Redepaz(Colombia's Peace Network),UNICEF, The Red Cross and the Catholic Church for nurturing peace among the young. This book also provides useful web sites to learn more about the children's movement for peace in Colombia. Upon completing this book one is filled with pride for the bravery of the young in Colombia. But one is also saddened by the stark reality that the young suffer a great deal. Finally, this book promotes a greater awareness of the children's movement for peace but also drives home the fact that the young are defenseless to the harm of poverty and violence in Colombia.

Child Heroes Reject the Horrors of War
Fortunately I did not experience the terror of mass murder, rape and callous torture as a child. For the children of Columbia such experiences are an every day occurrence. The courage of the young people whose stories Cameron relates is extraordinary. How does an ordinary fifteen year old girl rise to become a leader of children in a mass movement to bring peace to a country where war is the norm? How do children as young as eleven overcome their anger and personal pain to tell their fellow sufferers that anger and revenge will not work as well as forgiveness and conciliation?

This true story of The Children's Peace Movement of Columbia makes chilling reading, but it is also inspiring and enriching.

Cameron's simple and eminently readable style allows the children to speak for themselves and she does not fall into the traps of sentimentality or open-mouthed wonder. She allows them to relate their experiences, their failures and successes, to tell of their feelings, their joys, their hopes and their fears, and, most of all, of their overwhelming wish to bring peace to this shattered country.

My hat comes off to Sara Cameron for drawing the attention of the world to the work of these heroic children. I hope that her book will give them a platform from which they can continue to build the peace they so richly deserve.

Important Stories of Peace in the Middle of Violence
"Out of War" has some amazing stories of Colombian teenagers who have survived the terrible violence that is tearing their country apart. Juan Elias has to cope with the murder of his father and cousin and the persecution of his family. Wilfrido lives in a town where assassins ride by killing people and armed groups recruit children as soldiers. The gangs that dominate Maritza's community sometimes attract her, but then she tries to make peace between them. This is true of all the young people in the book. They suffer from the violence but then they try to do something about it. Alberto's brother was kidnapped by one of the armed groups but still Alberto, who is only 15 years old, runs peace workshops for kids. He says he is working for forgiveness. He says that it is especially important for people like him who have suffered in the war to forgive because without forgiveness there cannot be peace. There still isn't peace in Colombia but Mayerly (who is 16 and whose best friend was murdered) says that we should never give up on peace, no matter how hard it is or how long it takes, because if you give up how will you ever achieve it. The book is not long. I read it in one go. Once I started reading I couldn't stop. I thought it was one of the most important books I have read, especially now! I recommend it to everyone, whether you are young or old because it can give hope to everyone. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A useful, colorful (and inexpensive!) title
(Note: Somehow this review was previously mis-assigned to the companion volume, El Salvador: The Land.)

It's hard to find good books on El Salvador that aren't about the war, and believe me, I've looked! My husband is Salvadoran and I'm a Spanish teacher trying to show there's more to Central America than just Costa Rica. The two good children's books our library carries were written back when the war was still going on, and I've been looking for a newer book to recommend as a library acquisition. Now I have at least one entry for my list, and the paperback version is a bargain for any home library as well.

The book has only 32 pages, so while it touches on many subjects, each only gets a two-page spread. Within these limitations, though, the book presents useful information in a narrative form and with minimal bias. The "struggle and civil war" section does a remarkably good job of giving background behind conflicts such as La Guerra de Fútbol ("the Soccer War"). The section on "Native Peoples" gives a good treatment of the assimilation of these groups, with a look at the Pipíl and Lenca peoples in the present day. The book's discussion of the post-peace agreement period is very general, and despite the 2002 copyright, no mention is made of the devastating earthquakes of January and February, 2001; I can only assume the book had already gone to press.

Halfway through the book, the book changes from a general overview into a more vignette-style presentation of selected topics under the usual headings ("Music and Dance," etc.). The section on family traditions, for example, gives one or two paragraphs each to baptisms, birthdays, quinceañeras, folk beliefs and "curanderas" (folk healers). In these sections, the presentation is a bit haphazard, but still provides worthwhile material. The arts and crafts section includes the role of cooperatives and political art; another topic, "The Flavors of El Salvador," brings food into a detailed and interesting depiction of daily life. The only part of the book I didn't care for is the ending, a fictional episode of a family visit; it tries a little too hard to tie in every kind of cultural topics via stilted and unnatural dialogue. The youngest readers probably won't mind, but upper elementary and middle schoolers would roll their eyes.

The "Life in the Countryside" section is a treasure. The pictures show everyday life much as I saw it when I went to visit my in-laws in early 2002. Nearly every sentence has some detail that made me shout with recognition, such as the mention of using car batteries to power TVs and radios. Oddly, the book doesn't mention the solar collectors powering the batteries, an interesting topic for kids. Also, the book mentioned the scarcity of vehicles, indoor plumbing, and electricity, yet said nothing about phones. A country with so many expatriates is a country that cares a LOT about phones, and life has been profoundly affected by a boom in cell-phones in "el campo," where a phone call used to require an hourlong walk to town.

While this series only covers 22 countries so far, the publishers have wisely avoided the tactic of presenting all the "usual suspects" before getting to the lesser known countries. It's refreshing to see countries like Nigeria and the Philippines among these titles -- you expect that with long-running series that cover every single country, but for a series that only covers a fraction of the world's peoples, it's nice to see someone went beyond the obvious. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Excellent Resource for Teachers!
This book is great! I highly recommend it for teachers looking for resources to teach Mexico! It is suitable for 1st-5th grades (yes, it spans that many!) It's packed with information as well as hands-on activities your students can actively engage in and learn! Excellent! ... Read more

Book Description

Over five hundred years ago, there lived a thirteen-year-old Inca girl in the mountains of Peru. Because of her perfect beauty, she was chosen to be the official sacrifice to the god of Mount Ampato. Feasting began days before the actual ceremony and priests gave the girl elaborate costumes to wear. Then the time came for her to be given to the mountain.

Centuries have passed and it is 1990. Hiking on the snowy peak of Mount Ampato, an archeologist and a mountain elimber make an unusual find: charred wood and other signs of ancient human life buried in the frozen ground. Before long, they uncover the mummified body of a young girl, and a scientific inquiry begins.

In this companion book to his award-winning Frozen Man, author David Getz gives young readers an up-close look at the discovery of the Incan mummy. He shows how scientists pieced together clues to the frozen girl's identity, including theories on how and why she was sacrificed. Evocative illustrations from Peter McCarty bring the girl and her culture to life. Photographs of the actual mummy are also included. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Real Anthropology
Gripping and suspenseful, this well written text affords a rare glimpse into the realm of anthropological studies, lending itself as an excellent tool for teachers studing South American Cultures. Sensative readers may be disturbed by photos in the text and the sacraficial death of the Peruvian children.

THE BOOK WAS GOOD
I THINK YOU SHOULD READ IT IF YOU NEED A BOOK TO READ IT'S NOT BAD AT ALL! READ IT!! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

An extraordinary testimony to archaeological history
Accessibly written and very beautifully by Caldecott Honor Winner Ted Lewin, Lost City: The Discovery Of Machu Picchu is a picturebook history presentation about a 1911 journey into Peru in search of Vilcapampa, the lost city of the Incas. What was actually discovered was the forgotten city of Machu Picchu, resulting in an extraordinary testimony to archaeological history and a Native American legacy, in this wonderfully illustrated, deftly told, and strongly recommended story. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

MY SONS, 14 AND 12 LOVED READING THIS BOOK.
I have two step-sons, ages 14 and 12. They are not avid readersbut were fascinated by this book. We are planning a trip to Brazil andamong the books I suggested for them was this one. I picked it up at on a recent trip to New York. My kids found it a great adventure book and motivated them even more to want to visit brazil.

This Is The Best Book I Ever Seen
This is a good book because it gives a lot of detail of what is going on in it. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

I bought this for my adopted children
I have two children adopted from Paraguay and this book is great information and on their level. It is sort of like a social studies book on the country. There are many different chapters covering a lot of areas. There are photos on almost every page. Unlike other books I bought about Paraguay, this one has more on current life than on history. I highly recommend it for the age group of 6 years old and up. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The Panama Canal - A simplistic View
The Panama Canal (49 pages) by Elizabeth Mann is a well written book containing the very basic information about the canal. My disappointment is that the book was set in oversized type and every other page was an illustration. It was interesting and very easy reading. The book would be best suited for a pre-high school student.

for children and adults
The illustrations in this book are so good that I have offered it to my husband as a "ready made diary" of our trip to the Panama canal. The pictures capture all the beauty and the technological marvel of the canal. The book is an excellent visit in an armchair. ... Read more