A Child Through Time Book Review
A Child Through Time is a history book by DK publishing for kids ages 8 to 12 (though both my 10 and 6 year olds *loved* it). It’s meant to look at history, specifically through the eyes of a child.
The book is structured according to a named child who might be typical of a time & location in history. Like most kid’s history reference books, it is heavy on captions, highlights, and illustrations. I read it to both my kids out loud, but then went and re-read it on my own, it was that good and that fascinating.
What I Liked
I was reminded, once again, that one of the best ways to approach a topic is with a book written for children. Unlike adult “for dummies” books, the presentation is not condescending or overly dense. The book is approachable and just straight-up fascinating.
The book is a solidly in the trend of everyday history, which I love. One of the best books that I read right after college was A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World. Everyday living and trade is much more instructive and interesting than giant wars and political trends. I think most people in the US would agree that the iPhone has made a much bigger impact on their life than the Iraq War, post-2007. Same with children. I love that this book exists and tells the stories of all the children who lived a long time ago.
I liked how it definitively showed how different life can be. It made it a joy to read to kids and let them imagine. The book was good about highlighting the challenges and hardships children faced at different times in history without letting that dominate the book.
I liked how the book showed how similar life can be. It’s kind of weird to think about all the children through history still being, well, kids. They’ve all done so many of the same things, it’s kind of funny and human. It reminded me of the film Babies back in 2010.
What I Didn’t Like / Takeaways
Not a whole lot. I’m skipping this standard section of my book review to just say that it’s worth purchasing for a history loving kid or picking up at the library (just like every other DK book).
