Matti A. PitkänenCritiques

Provides an introduction to Egypt and its people, with a special focus on the day-to-day life of the children

This book would be a great resource for a research paper for skilled readers in upper elementary school. The pictures that accompany the text help readers to gain an understanding of the culture visually as well as from the text. This book has a wealth of interesting information for readers looking to understand their world.½

Pitkanen, Matti A. and Reijo Harkonen. Carolrhoda Books, 1991. 40 pp., Hardcover. Grdeas 2-5.

Isolated islands and rural communities of the Nordic countries are the focus of this book. Sections cover Iceland, the Faeroe Islands (an autonomous province of Denmark), Sweden's Gotland, Åland (an autonomous province of Finland), and Norway's Lofoten Islands. I was particularly interested in the Lofoten Islands as my ancestors came from this region.

Each region has about six pages devoted to it with some narrative and many photographs, especially photographs of children. I like the focus on natural features (the geysers of Iceland!) and the traditional rural lifestyles and culture. The book also touches on the role tourism plays in these communities.

The common ties to the Vikings and their isolation from the larger, more European cities of Scandinavia is highlighted. While none of these regions is covered in any depth, there is enough here to make me want to learn more. It also made me wonder how true these portraits are -- are these communities romanticized, and have they changed in dozen or so years since this book was published.

One role of children's books is to stimulate curiosity and wonder, and in that sense this book has played its role and played it well.

Through the use of photographs throughout the book the other gives a quick overview of different areas in China. The pictures help to show the information in the book and do an excellent job of supporting the facts the author is giving in the book.

We checked this out as part of a study unit on Aztec, Inca and Maya (South America) as a prelude to a study of South America in the Modern Age. This is one of about 10 books that we are reading through and discussing and as such we found it to be an interesting and informative overview of the Quechua Indians and learned that the term “Incan” is a misnomer as it originally referred to the king or leader, not the entire people. Grandchildren of the Inca doesn’t focus on the prehistory of this tribe, rather, the focus here is on the modern descendents and how they live and what their culture is like today. This book does go over the basics (development in prehistory, the arrival of the Spaniards, ect…), but for the most part, we are dealing with the here and now of life for the Quechua Indians. I have to say, this isn’t a feel good-read, there are some harsh realities when it comes to the social and economic life that this group leads in the modern era…but it also touches on family life, the importance of weaving to their culture, and speculates briefly on their future prospects as a people. Interspersed with the text are photographs which help bring home the points illustrated and really give some vibrancy and life to the information presented by the authors. Overall, it’s informative and interesting…I like that it doesn’t sugar coat the troubles (historically and in the modern era) of the Quechua Indians and that the author’s have presented an accurate portrait of these people for young readers to delve into. I rate it at 4 stars and would recommend it to readers ages 8-10 as part unit on the history of South America, particularly the Quechua Indians.

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