Personalized Stories Offer Sense of History

In “Turn of the Century” (Charlesbridge Publishing, $17.95), Ellen Jackson spotlights 11 children living in America or England, one a century for the past millennium. Each entry is written in the first person--from John, a 10-year-old peasant boy in the year 1000, to Emily, an 8-year-old Pennsylvania girl in 1900--plus factoids about those times. The final entry, for 2000, returns to another 10-year-old boy named John. The language reflects each era too, in colloquialisms and even sentence structure.

Some of it is silly stuff, but most of the time the details slip in unobtrusively, and it’s interesting. Kids can learn about the differences and similarities among children during the past thousand years.

The two-page format and fancy type make the pages seem intimidating, but the text isn’t, and, especially if read by a game actor, can come alive for even early readers. All (even adults!) will want to spend extra time examining Jan Davey Ellis’ detailed watercolor and colored-pencil illustrations, which have some surprises tucked into them. A bibliography leads the curious to more information on any era.

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History is also the theme of “Bridges Are to Cross” (Putnam, $15.99), by architect Philemon Sturges. Bridges from different regions and eras are re-created in magical cut-paper illustrations--but more like paper sculptures--by Giles Laroche. Take time to explain this artistic technique; kids are usually amazed to learn that it’s basically a paper-scissors-glue job. (Young artists whose curiosity is piqued may be intrigued by Matisse’s cut-paper work. His images, colorful and childlike in execution, are brilliant and inspirational.)

Each easily accessible two-page spread is, in fact, intended to illustrate what we already know instinctively--that bridges are for more than crossing. Sturges also provides a bit of historical or engineering information to go with each. This book--representing regions from San Francisco to New York, from Australia to Scotland--may also inspire conversations about travel. Let enthusiastic children participate in planning a vacation to one or more of the contemporary sites.

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Older readers--and advanced, ambitious middle readers--with more than a general interest in the history and architecture of shelter will find a lot of material packed into the impressive “House” (Abrams, $18) by Albert Lorenz. The minimalist title is supplemented by an extra wordy but informative subhead: “Showing How People Have Lived Throughout History With Examples Drawn From the Lives of Legendary Men and Women.”

In 40 examples on two-page spreads, author-illustrator Lorenz examines how a culture’s living arrangements reflect its ideals and beliefs as well as its customs, values and technology. Lorenz takes readers from ancient Egypt to outer space, from the South Pacific to the Arctic, and four brief, illustrated essays at the end put the information into perspective and give it context. Disappointingly, however, there is no bibliography or suggested reading list.

Lorenz’s tight drawings can feel like text, and this graphic layout style is busy, busy; there’s a lot going on here. Still, if you haven’t seen Lorenz’s “Metropolis” (Abrams), and you like his style, check it out. It’s something.