Reviews (3)

The perfect book for those who find history boring
I admit it - I'm not a history buff. Although this book is written for children, I couldn't put it down! The format is in a newspaper style, and obviously, the subject is the medieval era. The entire book is nothing but pure fun. It's written in a very easy-to-read format with colorful illustrations. It reads like a three-ring circus with each article and ad competing for your attention. You wonder where to lay your eyes first!

Some titles of articles include, "Becket Kicks Bucket," "Partisians Upset as King Paves Streets," "What's New at the Spanish Inquisition," and "I'm Not Dead!" Insists Corpse" ("Oh yes you are," says priest).

There's an advice column by, (who else, but) Mistress Manners. One medieval reader writes, "I am deeply ashamed. I went last week to a public bathhouse. To my horror I emerged clean and fresh as a daisy. Now everybody shuns me because I do not smell like them, i.e. like an old midden. What can I do to rectify this appalling gaffe? Name and address withheld by request.

Mistress Manners replies, "Dear Peter Parsnip of 32 Castle Lane, Warwick, You have been very improper indeed. As everyone knows, bathhouses are sinks of vice and iniquity, and while it is quite proper to indulge in vice and iniquity it is not done to flaunt the fact by being clean. What you must do it find the smelliest dungheap in town and roll in it. This will restore your normal, socially acceptable stink. In the future, avoid bathhouses at all costs. If you want to wash, may I recommend a thorough scouring with a mixture of mutton fat and wood ash. This is used by the majority of households and will allow you to smell like everyone else.

On a page about superstition, in a quiz that tests how superstitious you are, one of the questions asks:

You come across a wishing well. Do you:

a) Have a drink.
b) Throw in a coin and make a wish.
c) Storm the well, declare it your own, then take out all the money except for one small penny which you attach to a string and drop in and out to make multiple wishes?

The advertising is eye-catching. An example: "Qualified Barbers Wanted Urgently. Do you cut hair? Expand your horizons! A new career awaits you in the world of surgery. You may not realize it, but your barbershop skills entitle you to amputate legs, set broken bones, cure cataracts, drill skulls, fix hernias, and basically, STOP AT NOTHING! Maximize your potential. Become a surgeon, and display your striped pole with pride. Call in at the Royal College of Barbers instantly."

What newspaper would be complete without a personals section? Some examples: "Professional knight seeks dishy damsel. My interests include fighting, arson, fighting, murder, fighting, warfare, battles, sieges, fighting, chainmail, fighting, weaponry, fighting, long walks and cozy evenings by the fire. What are yours?"

"Magnus of Pomerania. Please send another letter. Your last was accidentally eaten in a famine."

My ten-year-old son's favorite part of the book is a question posed to Mistress Manners which tells of a servant in a castle who heard some fighting, walked up to the ramparts, was overcome by vertigo, and accidentally lost his lunch over the edge and onto the attackers. He was horrified by his bad manners and asks what he can do to make amends. The answer left everyone in my household in stitches.

The book is so much fun that we've all read it multiple times. But I must warn you, as you are enjoying the book and laughing, you just may learn something in the process!

This book is part of the Usborne Newspaper Histories Series, which also includes books in a similar style on Egypt, Greece, Rome, the Vikings, and the Stone Age.

Funny and educational
An educational and very funny read. The facts are all true, but have been presented in a consistely funny and readable tabloid style. Maps, pictures, and fact boxes (and some very funny ads) support the text. Highly recommended.

A fun-filled look at medieval life
This book takes a tabloid look at medieval life. The "articles" present history and daily issues in medieval times in a very funny way. My eleven year old son and I both enjoyed it and learned some things. There is also an Egyptian tabloid that is equally enjoyable. ... Read more

Book Description

When Roberto sneaks off to see a movie in his Italian village, he has no idea that life as he knows it is over. German soldiers raid the theater, round up the boys in the audience, and pack them onto a train. After a terrifying journey, Roberto and his best friend Samuele find themselves in a brutal work camp, where food is scarce and horror is everywhere. The boys vow to stay together no matter what. But Samuele has a dangerous secret, which, if discovered, could get them both killed. Lovers of historical fiction will be captivated by this tragic, triumphant, and deeply moving novel.

"A gripping, meticulously researched story." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"An intense, gripping tale." --School Library Journal, starred review

"An affecting coming-of-age novel with a vivid and undeniable message about the human costs of war." --The Horn Book

* A Puffin Novel
* 224 pages
* Ages 10-14

* An ALA Notable Book
* An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
* New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age
* An NCSS Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies ... Read more

Reviews (55)

Trials
A Review by Josh

Stones in Water is about the adventure of Roberto, a 13 year old boy and his friend Sameule, who is also known as Enzo during WWII. The story starts when Roberto, his brother Sergio, and his friends Memo and Sameule are kidnapped at a movie theater by German soldiers. All of them are split up except for Sameule, who is now Enzo, and Roberto. Roberto and Enzo face many different trials and work at a prisoner of war camp. Roberto ends up escaping from the camp by meeting a group of Italian deserter soldiers and he follows them to Ukraine. While Roberto is in Ukraine he meets a boy and they fight to stay alive during the cold winter.

I really liked this book because of how it was based around a snowy area, which is my favorite type of surrounding. The book has a wonderful adventurous storyline. I like the main characters in this book because they are very nice.

The book puts you in a first person point of view on WWII, which really helps you to understand the trials of WWII. I would recommend this book to everyone because of how well it is written.

5 Stones for Stones in Water!
When Roberto sneaks away from home to watch a movie with some friends, he encounters nazi soldiers who take him away to all parts of Europe. Roberto is left alone with his friend Samuele or Enzo. Roberto remains strong througout his journey until his friends is frozen to death while in the cold harsh climate of Ukraine. Sad and angry for his friend, Roberto knows he does not want to die here. He runs away from the slave camp but amazingly he is not shot. Not yelled at, not bothered at all! He then survives the wilderness by using his survival instincts. Dodging soldiers, salvaging what ever he can from destroyed villages is all Roberto can do until he is befriended by an Italian soldier who helps him find the way home. Did he make it? Was he able to get through the rough waters of the Mediterranean? I read this book after a friend asked me these questions. After reading the book, I felt Roberto's pains and reliefs, and because of it, I enjoyed this suspenceful book. I rated this book 5 out of 5 stones which is what this book deserves!

Stones in Water
WOW! I never even thought that this book would be at all interesting when I looked inside. But once started, I could not put it down. I had to tell all my friends and family the story and almost got my mom into it! This story is amazing, especially for me because I really am interested in World War 2. I will always remember young Roberto, generous Samuele, and all of the other breathtaking characters in this novel. Way to go, Napoli!

Stones in Water
Do you like fierce, blood packed, and gun-killing stories? Than you'll go crazy over Stones in Water. Donna Jo Napoli tells the story of 3 Italian boys (2 are brothers) and 1 Jewish boy who sneak into a movie, and get captured by Germans who ship the boys off to a German concentration camp. Because Sameule (the Jewish boy) is such a Jewish name they must change his name to Enzo.
This is a great book for children of all ages. This is a great book because it has lots of loving and caring. It is also a great book for young children because it tells them that you should never stop trying.
The downside to this book was the flashbacks because there was not a lot of them and they would have helped you understand the book better. But the strong point in this book is the loving and caring the characters give to each other. A few other books that you might want to take a look at are The Bravest Thing, Shark Shock, and The Magic Circle. Would Germans capture you because you snuck into a movie?

Really Realalistic
This book is so nicely writen. It takes plae in WW2 in europe, mostly Germany, some Italy, and Ukraine. it has about 200 pages. It is Very adicting to read until i got to the 180th page or so it got weird. The ending was queer but it was good. This isnt a long reveiw but i think you get the setting i dont have time for anything else to be writen ... Read more

Reviews (2)

High School Helper
This book has been the greatest help for my greek projects. In this book you get an easy explanation of the greeek culture with out a lot of dry information. It's an easy read and something one can get the best info from. Especially culture and war though it does an article on both dsacrifices to the god and the oracles. Easy and fun IF YOU ARE A TEACHER PLEASE PICK THIS BOOK! Your students will enjoy it! :)

This book is great to use as a supplement for Greek History
This was a great book. I used it along with my studying of Greek History in school. I would read out of my textbook and other books then find a section in this book to read about. It helped me understand Greece a lot better. I enjoy the little cartoons and fake advertisements put in. The articles are written in many different forms including: interviews, traveling reporters and submitted articles. It is a fun book to read and I really loved it. This book is great for anyone either studying Greece or just interested in the subject. Age 13 ... Read more

Amazon.com

Do you know which British queen ruled for 63 years? Who the first royalbookworm was? Which king brought lions and camels and polar bears (oh my!) toLondon? If you don't know much about the kings and queens of England, salvationis here! This regal entry in Kenneth C. Davis's Don't Know Much About seriesexplores the amazing real lives (and some of the made-up stories) of two dozenof the most interesting members of the British monarchy over the last thousandyears. In keeping with other titles in the popular series, Davis uses a livelyquestion-and-answer format, along with illustrator S.D. Schindler's humorousartwork, to introduce readers to the sometimes bizarre world of royalty, rightup to present day, when young prince and heir to the throne William wears anelectronic tracking bracelet to keep him in constant contact with palacesecurity (apparently Harry can run around untracked). A complete chronologicallisting of all the kings and queens of England concludes the book. (Ages 6 to10) --Emilie Coulter ... Read more

Reviews (2)

History, Trivia, Facts, and Fun.....
Do you know which king wasn't a king, refused the crown, and called himself Lord Protector? Who was England's first properly crowned queen, not just the king's wife? Which queen served the longest, 63 years, and what was so good about "Good Queen Anne?" Why did George V change his last name to Windsor? And when Edward IV died, what happened to the princes in the Tower of London? Find the answers to these and many, many other intriguing questions in Kenneth Davis' Don't Know Much About The Kings & Queens Of England. Written in an easy to read, question and answer format, and complemented by S D Schindler's playful and humorous artwork, Mr Davis fills his book with fascinating history, engaging fun facts, and entertaining trivia about twenty-four of England's most interesting kings and queens, and the times in which they lived. Perfect for youngsters 9-12, this is the latest entry in Mr Davis' marvelous Don't Know Much About series, and as he tells the reader in his introduction, "...this one proves that real history about real people is a lot more fun than a bunch of simple dates and facts. And the true stories of some of the most famous monarchs of England are much more fascinating than you'd ever imagine."

Disjointed, disappointed
I wanted a book to share with my 5th grader, to give an overview of the English monarchy and a feeling for the scope and sweep of British history. Instead, this book gives only a rather disjointed look at a small selection of monarchs, and does not manage to connect people and events in any kind of meaningful timeline. I didn't expect in-depth analysis, but was definitely disappointed with the isolated, and rather fuzzy, snapshots of history that this book presents. ... Read more

Book Description

A lovely beginning reader that brings the story of Joan of Arc to life, from her simple childhood to her tragic end. Sensitively and dramatically told, this book is a wonderful introduction to what has become a classic tale. ... Read more

Book Description

The great Irish potato famine -- the Great Hunger -- was one of the worst disasters of the nineteenth century. Within seven years of the onset of a fungus that wiped out Ireland's staple potato crop, more than a quarter of the country's eight million people had either starved to death, died of disease, or emigrated to other lands. Photographs have documented the horrors of other cataclysmic times in history -- slavery and the Holocaust -- but there are no known photographs whatsoever of the Great Hunger.

In Feed the Children First, Mary E. Lyons combines first-person accounts of those who remembered the Great Hunger with artwork that evokes the times and places and voices themselves. The result is a close-up look at incredible suffering, but also a celebration of joy the Irish took in stories and music and helping one another -- all factors that helped them endure. ... Read more

Book Description

Rhymed verses, stunning illustrations, and a fascinating text all come together to form this imaginative story about Queen Elizabeth and her progresses, or journeys, through England's countryside. Ibatoulline's illustrations are not only beautiful colorful works of art, they also tell a story within a story-one about the attempted murder of the queen and about her loyal servants who seek revenge. The main text follows Elizabeth's travels and is filled with anecdotes and historical details.

Perfect for history-lovers, alert readers, and suspense-seekers, this multi-layered picture book reveals something new with each reading.

Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Beautiful, Lucious, Clever....Buy It!!!
This is one of the most beautiful books I've ever purchased for my daughter! Rich illustrations with clever rhymes and additional text make this a fun but educational adventure with Queen Elizabeth as she goes on "progress" and visits her subjects. Definitely a Caldecott contender!! I have also purchased Celeste Davidson Mannis's other book: "One Leaf Rides The Wind" and was expecting nothing less than excellence (and I was not disappointed).

A published rough draft
Great idea. Bring the Elizabethan period closer by linking it with an alphabet book and factoids that interest children.

Lovely illustrations.

Now the bad part. Embarrassingly lazy rhymes, from the Moody Blues school of songwriting.

G is for garden,
And in it a maze.
Through a tangle of hedgerows
The queen makes her way

(You could have said, To be lost there for days, Making several ways, With their heads in a daze--so many real rhymes would have worked.)

Unfortunately, many of the "rhymes" are like that. They are awkward but could have easily been made right. The meter is also not quite right, which is too bad, because this has so much to offer.

The book would have worked better without the poems, because the pictures and the historical notes are so good.

God Save the Queen!
British history nuts will get a kick out of this book. Fun for all ages! My kids love following the adventures of the little dog that appears on almost every page, and soaking up all the incredible detail that Ibatoulline crammed into his exquisite illustrations. There's a lot going on - a visual feast fit for a...Queen! As a certified Anglophile, I'm fascinated by the narrative at the bottom of each page, and the sometimes sassy, sometimes whimsical verse that moves along the 'story within a story'. Very unusual, very good! God Save the Queen!

A Regal Book
Celest Davidson Mannis and Bagram Ibatoulline combine the genres of alphabet books and historical picture books and take both to new heights.

Each page presents a different letter, with the ornate, scrolly letter taking up most of the page. Clever quatrains about the featured letter are accompanied by a small chunk of text that further explains the significance of what's been described in the quatrain -- for example, X is for xanthus, and though the brief rhymed poem explains what a xanthus is, the prose at the bottom of the page offers historical information that justifies its inclusion in the book.

The illustrations are exquisite. I've been a fan of Ibatoulline's work for some time now, and the pictures in this book are period-perfect, with colors that bring to mind an illuminated manuscript.

It's also fun to go through each picture and try to find the page, the maid, and the dwarf who play important parts in the adventure story that is skillfully woven into the poems and prose.

This book works on so many different levels, older children and adults will find much to learn and enjoy here. ... Read more

Book Description

It was the greatest invasion the world had ever seen. Officially known as "Operation Overlord," this World War II assault began on the morning of June 6, 1944. Thousands of American, British, and Canadian soldiers aboard hundreds of landing craft attacked beaches along nearly fifty miles of France's coastline in Normandy. Backing them up were the big guns of some of the mightiest ships in the Allied navies, and countless bomber, fighter, and transport aircraft. By the end of that day, an Allied army had made it ashore despite sometimes-fierce opposition, signaling the end of Nazi tyranny over Europe. Using the real-life stories of young men caught up in this great event, along with original paintings, photographs, and memorabilia, D-Day, the book, will present a compelling account of this world-changing day. ... Read more

Book Description

The grand family of Louis XVI, their friends, and their lovely court costumes all in color, alongisde dolls of the leading revolutionaries.Text is in both French and English. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Very accurately depicted
The paper dolls in this particular book are the most accurately depicted by using the descriptions of the people of the french royal court from the book that Marie-Antoinette had written ... Read more

Book Description

This book offers readers a beautiful blend of history and mythology - providing a new approach to exploring the Celts. This book retells a selection of important myths, using dramatic illustrations and supplementing them with historical and cultural information, including realistic maps and diagrams. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Remember the Celts
This book is just one of many in the Myths and Civilization series. Myths and Civilizations of the Celts is nicely organized, condensing the long history of the Celts into less than fifty pages. The book is divided into sections; each section begins with a fable and is followed by illustrations and two pages describing the different origins, beliefs, legends and societies among the Celts. A brief description of many Celtic stories such as the Legend of Maon, the Tragedy of Cuchulain, and the Tale of Peredur is also provided.

The history of the Celts is rarely studied. Particularly in this day and age when countries are overwhelmed with equality and compensating minorities for the atrocities committed against them. It is essential to learn about all cultural, ethnic, and racially distinct groups, particularly those living within a larger group. Minorities have been subjected to the most abuse and humiliation. It is important not to forget the culture of the majority for the majority has its own traditions, beliefs, and legends essential to its existence. One day the present majority will be a minority.

CC ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Covers the life of William Marshal
Shelley Tanaka's In The Time Of Knights (0651-6) deserves ongoing mention as a title which promises leisure attraction as well as for study: it provides Greg Ruhl's realistic drawings as it covers the life of William Marshal, a remarkable 1100s British knight who learned his trade at age 13.

Surprisingly gripping
At first I was confused by this book. Who was William Marshal? Who was King Stephen? But as the story moved on, I enjoyed it more and more. Though William Marshal lived a brutal life in a brutal age, he made courageous choices that brought honor and integrity to his name. I found the illustrations sometimes fascinating and informative, and sometimes distracting. There were places I would have liked to see more in depth explanation of important medieval topics such as class and trade. I also thought that knighthood and the crusades were a bit unbalanced in their presentation in favor of being idealized. Nonetheless, this book was an enjoyable and gripping introduction to the life of a fascinating man in a fascinating period. As a child, I would have lapped it up and asked for more. ... Read more

Book Description

Each of these guides is full of lively answers to all those tricky questions about how the world works. Browsers and young students alike will enjoy these lively question-and-answer books with their unique mix of realistic illustrations, fun facts, and engaging cartoons.

Special Features
• Compact format—easy for small hands to carry
• Full of fascinating facts on everything a child may ask
• Text carefully pitched to the age level
• Factual material presented in a lively style
• High quality artwork with amusing cartoons ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The Berlin Wall: How It Rose and Why It Fell
This is the perfect book to teach middle school students not only about the Berlin Wall, but about the Cold War for which it serves as a metaphor. The author explains the background and concepts connected with the Wall in language adolescents can understand. Her prose flows smoothly and maintains the reader's interest throughout. The black and white photographs bring history to life with, for example, an image of an East German border guard leaping over rolls of barbed wire (which he probably had just helped install) to freedom in the West. This is a very good book. ... Read more