The Lost Temple of the Aztecs

by Shelley Tanaka, Greg Ruhl (Illustrator)

Uses the discovery of the temple in Mexico City, what was the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, to introduce the story of the Spanish conquest of Moctezuma and his empire in the sixteenth century.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Geography

48 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 1998

Reviews

[Sparrows at Home · Rating 5 out of 5]

Upon first opening the book, I thought I had made a mistake when I saw photographs of excavations, as I was reading this to my 7-year-old daughter who wants to know more about the Aztecs. After the prologue, however, the story begins.

It was VERY good. The illustrations are amazing and the story is accurate and written in a way for an elementary aged child to understand and enjoy.

[Freya Abbas · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a pleasure to return to this book (which I first read in 4th grade). It's told in a wonderful narrative style with fascinating illustrations. I'm sure any kid would be hooked on to Aztec history if they read this book. That being said, it oversimplifies history a lot. So be careful about that.

[James Mourgos · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you ever wanted to know what happened when the Aztecs were invaded by Cortez's band of thugs – uhm, I mean "explorers," then Shelley Tanaka's book is the one to read. This book is designed for older children and teens and gives a fascinating overview of the Aztecs, how their leader Moctezuma was so easily fooled by the offers of goodwill by Cortez, and how Cortez and his men slaughtered the city of Tenochtitlan and eventually built upon it another colony in the Spanish conquest.

The illustrations by Greg Ruhl are very well maintained, drawn realistically and do not have a cartoon look – nearly photographic!

I also enjoyed the flavor of the book. The blood sacrifices that occured at the time were not watered down – we get to see where the hearts were thrown! And new photos of the archeologic digs in Mexico City were also fascinating and interesting.

This book is part of the "I Was There" series, five titles illustrated by Greg Rhul.

- The Buried City of Pompeii
- In The Time of Knights
- Lost Temple of the Aztecs
- Secrets of the Mummies
- First on the Moon

[Jean-Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good picture book describing the demise of the Aztec civilization. We read this to complement our history lesson about the Aztecs.