Historium: Welcome to the Museum

In a handsome overview of world antiquities (a companion to Animalium), more than 130 artifacts from Africa, America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania are grouped into six "galleries" and recreated in illustrations set against colored plates. Nelson contextualizes the objects with overviews of more than a dozen individual cultures, which include the Mayan and Pueblo peoples of the Americas, the Maori, and ancient civilizations of Korea, Persia, Rome, and more. An Aztec "double-headed serpent mosaic" coils horizontally across one spread, allowing readers to get a sense of the thousands of bits of turquoise arranged on the carved wood form. From Stone Age tools to Egyptian canopic jars and an 11th-century Iranian bowl featuring an early calligraphic form of Arabic, Wilkinson's striking replications and Nelson's informative descriptions offer insight into objects both sacred and mundane. Ages 8-12. (Sept.)

Gr 4-8--This museum-style exhibition of world culture goes beyond simply covering the Greek, Roman, and Egyptian worlds by encompassing southern African, Polynesian, and Hopewell cultures. The work begins with a general introduction to archaeology and provides a full-spread time line for reference. An index cites the museum locations of the depicted artifacts. The strength of this work is the gorgeous exhibits, presented in full color on oversize pages. Each exhibit begins with a brief overview of a specific culture. The presentation is less cluttered than that of DK's popular "Eyewitness" series, as most pages contain no more than six items. Readers will discover household articles, such as Pueblo jars, as well as large-scale features, including Roman mosaics. Thorough captions provide context. Wilkinson's illustrations of the various artifacts are photorealistic, with exacting detail. Only a few statuary pieces come off as obvious illustrations. The objects stand out on the pages, the backgrounds set in bold, solid colors. The chapters, called "Galleries," are arranged by continent, and the various exhibitions are further broken down into culture groups. In certain galleries, which focus on precise historical periods, the cultural groups are presented chronologically; in the case of America, the section on the Olmec is followed by the Maya and then the Aztecs. This book accomplishes a difficult goal: providing a high-interest visual experience that also has informational depth. VERDICT A beautiful addition to any elementary or middle school library, this work is the closest readers will come to attending a museum without leaving home.--Jeffrey Meyer, Mt. Pleasant Public Library, IA