Synopses & Reviews
Peter Kents brilliant cross-sections show how an early settlement changes into a bustling, modern-day city. The lively, warm and friendly illustrations are packed with absorbing and eye-opening details, and clearly show how new buildings are constructed on the rubble of the old. Eagle-eyed readers will have hours of fun spotting the descendants of one particular family though the centuries, and seeing how once-grand building become buried and how some structures remain through the centuries. Brand-new artworks and spreads reveal the prehistoric origins of the settlement, its 21st-century development and even give a glimpse into the far future, when ice sheets threaten to overwhelm the city
Review
Horn Book[T]his fascinating, accessible title introduces. . . valuable clues. . . [uses] cheerfully busy drawings and detailed cross-sections [that] will reward readers with new discoveries at each turn. Library Media ConnectionWith a bit of a "Where's Waldo" flavor, this book takes the reader on a delightful jaunt over a patch of grouond as one small English town thrives only to be replaced by another built upon it ruins. . . . the author entertains and educates with cutaway drawings of Iron Age villages and Roman settlements, medieval towns and 16th century cities, and on through the years. . . . It will leave young readers asking questions, and that's always a good thing. Rutgers School of Arts and SciencesWith a detailed description of archeological tools and methods, as well as intricate illustrations of city life and structures, this fascinating book helps children to understand how cities evolved and how the well-being of city inhabitants improved over time. . . . Added into the mix are a number of important lessons in economics, including the invention of money during the Iron Age to help facilitate trade . . . School Library JournalThis intriguing introduction to urban archaeology features cross-sections of the same location in an imaginary European city from the Stone Age to the 21st century. . . . daily life aboveground [is] fascinating . . . the subterranean realm is equally engaging. . . . Whether students flip through the pages quickly or painstakingly compare certain elements in the underground layers from one color cartoon illustration to the next, they will gain a deeper appreciation for the way human settlements change over time. Booklist[This] detail-rich picture book . . . [is] a winning format, and Kent knows how to provide the mini-dramas (a peasant being shoved by a nobleman into a stream in the sixteenth century becomes a skeleton buried beneath the stream in the seventeenth) that make it such a fun, flip back-and-forth experience.
About the Author
Author and illustrator Peter Kent has been producing books for children and adults for almost thirty years. His first book was a serious work of history: Fortifications of East Anglia, which is still in print today. He has written and illustrated nineteen childrens books, and illustrated over one hundred and thirty other childrens books. In fact, Peter thinks he has produced more than 12,000 individual artworks for his childrens books. As well as working as an author/illustrator, Peter still manages to find time for some teaching and lecturing