Best of Book History Online

Product Details

From Publishers Weekly
Produced in association with the Smithsonian Institution, DK's Children's Encyclopedia of American History by David King is a comprehensive overview lavishly illustrated with period photographs, paintings and drawings of people, objects and events, as well as maps and charts. Separate topics-from "The Constitution" to "Terrorism Strikes Home"-unfold in double-page spreads throughout 18 chronologically organized chapters. An appendix includes a list of the U.S. presidents, a chart of key facts about the 50 states, and the texts of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and its Amendments, plus the Gettysburg Address.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 5-9-A visually enticing and textually fascinating survey. Grouped thematically and chronologically (with overlap where necessary), the 18 chapters span the centuries, starting with 1000-1607 ("Two Worlds Meet"-a look at the indigenous cultures and the impacts of European exploration) and concluding with 2000-2002 ("A New Millennium"-September 11, 2001, and beyond). Chapters consist of up to 10 two- to four-page spreads and open with an introduction that offers a few paragraphs of text, a representative graphic, a brief overview, and a time line. A typical spread contains a colored tab indicating the years addressed, maps, captioned photos, sidebars that elaborate on specific events, reproductions of paintings and drawings, definitions, and cross-references. Appendixes include a compendium of presidents; state facts; and the full text of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Gettysburg Address. Tied more to themes and historical strands than Chronicle of America (DK, 2000), this book is also more approachable and will be especially appealing to students intimidated by text-heavy resources.
Mary R. Hofmann, Rivera Middle School, Merced, CA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author
David C. King is a freelance author and educational consultant to the New York State Department of Education, New York City Board of Education, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Lincoln Center for the Arts in Education, and the National Council for the Social Studies. He has written more than 30 books for children and adults, and is the recipient of: The Children's Book Council Notable Book of the Year award, 1997 for First Facts About American Heroes.

Customer Reviews

A Great Resource.
This is not the be all end all book of American History. It is not an Encyclopedia of American History. This book is a good resource, a beginning, a place to find some information about American History.

This book was not meant to be a text book for home schoolers. It was not meant to be the final authority on American History. If you are using this book as the sole means of getting information about American History; you will be missing out. You need to supplement this book with others that are specific to the time you are learning about.

Other reviewers have noted what they consider to be faults. For example; they have mentioned the lack of in depth information on African Americans. There is a lack of in depth information on African Americans. There is a lack of in depth information on many topics and depending on your interests you might find information you would want in this book missing.

Based on the space available and the age this book was written for (Elementary to middle school ages), this book covered a lot of information very briefly. It covered a few things more completely and a few things less than completely.

Every author who writes a history book has a bias and that bias shows through often times to an extreme degree. I didn't find that this book demonstrated a bias to a large degree. In fact, I believe the author tried very hard to point out positives and negatives of every age and year and president.

That fact that other reviews have touted this book as too liberal or just right or conservative demonstrates that this book probably has hit the middle point between these views. I didn't see this book as very conservative nor as very liberal.

The pictures are gorgeous and there are many many pictures and drawings and sketches. They are all well done.

Enjoy.
Well Worth the Money.

Good for everyone
I bought this for my sixth grader to help him in his American History class, but my husband now keeps it by his bedside table. He likes that the information is insightful and well organized. It contains a lot of pictures so even my younger son benefits from looking through it. The only downside may be that there is not enough information provided for some of the topics; but it is a good starting place for reports.

biased view of American History is a NO NO
Save the biased view of American History. I wanted an unbiased view of American History .....FACTS and FACTS. Don't teach lies to children or your biased view........just facts is needed.