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Where Is the Great Wall?
More than two thousand years ago, with his land under constant attack from nomads, the First Emperor of China came up with a simple build a wall to keep out enemies. It was a wall that kept growing and growing. But its construction came at a huge it is believed that more than a million Chinese died building it, earning the wall its nickname--the longest cemetery on earth. Through the story of the wall, Patricia Brennan Demuth is able to tell the story of China itself, the rise and fall of dynasties, the greatness of its culture, and its present-day status as a Communist world power.
112 pages, Paperback
First published February 5, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
January 10, 2025
"More than two thousand years ago, the emperor of China had workers start building a wall. It was a wall like no other on earth - then or now. It has earned its name: the Great Wall. It is the largest structure that humans have ever made!
This amazing feat of engineering was handmade! There were no machines or power tools to help builders - no forklifts, tractors, drills, or cement mixers. There were just human hands using tools made of stone, iron, and wood. The wall ended up taking a terrible human toll. It is believed that a million Chinese died while building it." (Pages 1, 3 and 4)
This amazing feat of engineering was handmade! There were no machines or power tools to help builders - no forklifts, tractors, drills, or cement mixers. There were just human hands using tools made of stone, iron, and wood. The wall ended up taking a terrible human toll. It is believed that a million Chinese died while building it." (Pages 1, 3 and 4)
January 2, 2021
Unbelievable that such a small book could tell a concise history of China since before 221 BC when the wall was built to till today restoring it. The book touches major points - first emperor Qin Shi Huangdi to Ming Dynasty to Genghis, Kublai to communist parties (who actually set to destroy the wall!!) to final restoration project.
December 11, 2015
I read this book aloud to my son (age 7) in preparation for our upcoming trip to China, which will include a day at the Great Wall.
This is a decent history of China for young readers. It strikes a good balance between amount of information and ease of reading. It doesn't gloss over the more harsh details of the story, such as the conditions faced by workers constructing the Wall, and the vast numbers of those workers who died there.
It does, by necessity, simplify a lot of history just to fit the whole narrative in a small number of pages.
Each chapter contains some short articles on topics related to the historical period covered in the chapter. They contained some interesting details, but I did find they disrupted the flow of reading the book aloud somewhat.
My son read along patiently and with interest, although not with the excitement he's had for some of the fiction books we've read together. He really liked the fold-out map in the back, and the book definitely has him looking forward to our upcoming trip.
This is a decent history of China for young readers. It strikes a good balance between amount of information and ease of reading. It doesn't gloss over the more harsh details of the story, such as the conditions faced by workers constructing the Wall, and the vast numbers of those workers who died there.
It does, by necessity, simplify a lot of history just to fit the whole narrative in a small number of pages.
Each chapter contains some short articles on topics related to the historical period covered in the chapter. They contained some interesting details, but I did find they disrupted the flow of reading the book aloud somewhat.
My son read along patiently and with interest, although not with the excitement he's had for some of the fiction books we've read together. He really liked the fold-out map in the back, and the book definitely has him looking forward to our upcoming trip.
June 5, 2016
Sorry, unbelievably boring--couldn't even flip through fast enough. ugh
October 13, 2019
Anyone who burns books is evil in my opinion.
October 7, 2025
A monumental achievement. Both this book and the wall itself. 😆😁
January 29, 2019
The book,”Where is the Great Wall?’’ should be rated four stars in my opinion. In the book I learned about the Great Wall and a little about its history. When I was reading through the book I learned more and more and more about the Great Wall I didn’t know...like that almost a million people died during the building of the Great Wall. In the book you can learn a lot of information if you need it for a essay,book report, or a summary. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Information books,history books, or anybody who likes the Where is,Who is,or What is Series. So in all, I would rate this book four stars for the book,”Where is the Great Wall”.
January 4, 2024
A long, long time ago China was a land of nomads. Then, about 6,000 years ago, the Chinese began to farm. As the Chinese planted roots their culture started moving far ahead of other countries. They had a written language as early as 2200 BC. They invented all kinds of important things like porcelain and silk.
There was just one wee little problem: the barbarians!
These were the tribes of the Northern steppe and they kept attacking and wouldn't leave the Chinese alone.
The Chinese started building walls around their homes, then around cities, and finally started forming states.
Then this guy showed up.
Qin Shi Huangdi conquered all the states and became the first emperor of China. He was a cruel leader, but many of his reforms last to this day. He built roads and canals to link his empire. He developed a new government and established rules, but he also cut off free thought. Everyone would do things his way.
The only thing out of his control was the barbarian attacks. And the first Great Wall was began.
Workers were treated as slaves and many died.
Qin Shi Huangdi also began work on his tomb. He had 7,000 terra cotta soldiers designed and they still stand guard in Xian.
All the emperors after continued work on the wall until the Han Dynasty. That was a great time for China, but they let the Wall fall into disrepair. Wudi fixed it all back up.
In the middle ages Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, stormed China and killed the emperor. His line ruled for nearly 100 years before the Chinese revolted.
The Mongols had let the Wall fall into crumbling heaps, but the Ming dynasty started from scratch and built it back up.
I love these little junior non-fiction books. They're quick and easy to read and provide a nice look at different parts of history. My 4th graders love to read them. There's a whole bunch of different ones and I'd recommend them to adults and kids alike.
There was just one wee little problem: the barbarians!
These were the tribes of the Northern steppe and they kept attacking and wouldn't leave the Chinese alone.
The Chinese started building walls around their homes, then around cities, and finally started forming states.
Then this guy showed up.
Qin Shi Huangdi conquered all the states and became the first emperor of China. He was a cruel leader, but many of his reforms last to this day. He built roads and canals to link his empire. He developed a new government and established rules, but he also cut off free thought. Everyone would do things his way.
The only thing out of his control was the barbarian attacks. And the first Great Wall was began.
Workers were treated as slaves and many died.
Qin Shi Huangdi also began work on his tomb. He had 7,000 terra cotta soldiers designed and they still stand guard in Xian.
All the emperors after continued work on the wall until the Han Dynasty. That was a great time for China, but they let the Wall fall into disrepair. Wudi fixed it all back up.
In the middle ages Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, stormed China and killed the emperor. His line ruled for nearly 100 years before the Chinese revolted.
The Mongols had let the Wall fall into crumbling heaps, but the Ming dynasty started from scratch and built it back up.
I love these little junior non-fiction books. They're quick and easy to read and provide a nice look at different parts of history. My 4th graders love to read them. There's a whole bunch of different ones and I'd recommend them to adults and kids alike.
December 31, 2019
I have visited the Great Wall of China and climbed to the highest point for that section near Beijing that was restored and is now being maintained. It is one of my most memorable travel experiences. In her book Where Is the Great Wall, author Patricia Demuth unloads plenty of facts about the planning and building of the Wall. She also discusses its deterioration until the communist government realized its tourism value and began to restore and maintain portions of it especially near major cities. I was built originally on orders by the first emperor of China to keep out enemies and raiders from the north. It has been said that over a million Chinese workers died in its construction. It grew over many years as it was added to spanning from the sea to the east to the Gobi Desert in the west. Eventually, as Chinese dynasties rose and fell, the soldiers manning the Wall were not being paid and wandered away. The Wall fell into disrepair and began to disintegrate. The author explained that local Chinese even removed bricks to use on their own homes. Then, under communism, the leaders discovered the value of tourism and began restoration of the Wall in certain places more easily accessible for the tourists. Well written with lots of history about the Wall but also about China to put it into perspective.
November 9, 2019
Genre: History
Grade: 2-4
Plot:
Learn about the origins of one of China's most famous landmarks: The Great Wall of China. Through this text, students can learn about why and how this wall was built, along with the impact this historic landmark has had throughout China's rich history.
Why you chose it:
I chose this book because of how well it broke down the information. The Great Wall of China has a really long and detailed history, and going through this information can be difficult for even adults at times. However, this book does a great job of breaking down the history to a level where even primary students can understand and sequence the events.
Use in a reading classroom:
This book is an amazing read-aloud for younger children, and would be a great individual read for fourth graders. The illustrations on the pages help bring the words on the page to life, and the writing is accessible enough to be used to help support reading comprehension. Furthermore, an excellent extension project for this book would be to get students to create a scale model of the Great Wall of China.
Grade: 2-4
Plot:
Learn about the origins of one of China's most famous landmarks: The Great Wall of China. Through this text, students can learn about why and how this wall was built, along with the impact this historic landmark has had throughout China's rich history.
Why you chose it:
I chose this book because of how well it broke down the information. The Great Wall of China has a really long and detailed history, and going through this information can be difficult for even adults at times. However, this book does a great job of breaking down the history to a level where even primary students can understand and sequence the events.
Use in a reading classroom:
This book is an amazing read-aloud for younger children, and would be a great individual read for fourth graders. The illustrations on the pages help bring the words on the page to life, and the writing is accessible enough to be used to help support reading comprehension. Furthermore, an excellent extension project for this book would be to get students to create a scale model of the Great Wall of China.
December 6, 2020
This books is representative of other books like it in the series. The author gives an overview of the history of China while also giving information about specifics, such as the silk trade, timeline of major events, highlighting leaders and the how and why the Great Wall of China was built.
This is a good book to use when studying China and China's history. Classroom library for 3rd through 6th grade
This is a good book to use when studying China and China's history. Classroom library for 3rd through 6th grade
April 21, 2021
Over this last year I have really enjoyed and been impressed with the Where is/Who is/What is? series of books. We used a number of them for homeschooling the past year and I really enjoy them. I feel like they do a great job of making history accessible to kids, but also presenting a good picture of what history was like.
This remains true for Where is the Great Wall? which focuses on the Great Wall of China as well as the history of China. While the focus is largely on the Great Wall and what it was used for, you also get snapshots into the history of China as different dynasties and eras are involved with building, rebuilding, neglecting, or even destroying the Great Wall.
While the main focus of the book is on the Great Wall, there are other asides given to tell you about other aspects of Chinese history. There are sections on Chinese inventions, the Terracotta soldiers, making silk, and other bits that don't directly fit into the book, but do give more background information.
As with all of this series of books, the books are geared towards kids and as such the narrative presenting is going to be simplified. However, it does still talk about how many Chinese died during the building of the Great Wall, so while it's simplified it doesn't have all the bad parts strained out (although I'm sure there are things strained out as well).
As I said, I enjoy this series of books. I think they're a great way to introduce children to history and I wouldn't be surprised if many of the books also teach adults things. I know I've learned things from this book series, as well as from this particular book.
This remains true for Where is the Great Wall? which focuses on the Great Wall of China as well as the history of China. While the focus is largely on the Great Wall and what it was used for, you also get snapshots into the history of China as different dynasties and eras are involved with building, rebuilding, neglecting, or even destroying the Great Wall.
While the main focus of the book is on the Great Wall, there are other asides given to tell you about other aspects of Chinese history. There are sections on Chinese inventions, the Terracotta soldiers, making silk, and other bits that don't directly fit into the book, but do give more background information.
As with all of this series of books, the books are geared towards kids and as such the narrative presenting is going to be simplified. However, it does still talk about how many Chinese died during the building of the Great Wall, so while it's simplified it doesn't have all the bad parts strained out (although I'm sure there are things strained out as well).
As I said, I enjoy this series of books. I think they're a great way to introduce children to history and I wouldn't be surprised if many of the books also teach adults things. I know I've learned things from this book series, as well as from this particular book.
September 24, 2020
A good dose of Chinese history, from ancient China and the First Emperor to the Cultural Revolution and modern day. Bronze, silk, and porcelain, barbarian warriors on horseback, the world's first government, scholars, suffering, brutal dynasties and peaceful dynasties. And through it all - the building, crumbling, rebuilding, destruction, and yet more building of the Great Wall, the largest structure humans have ever made.
Informative, well written, and well illustrated.
Informative, well written, and well illustrated.
December 8, 2017
This book is very informative. The illustrations are illuminating and fun to look at. Check out page 3 to see if you can find a funny editing mistake :-) At any rate, this book will have you yearning for more of the orient.
January 12, 2018
I liked It because the book tolled me all about the jobs where it was and how it was built by the Emperors slaves.The best thing about the book was how amazing how far the wall was and how they created all of it.
July 21, 2020
I'm a sucker for these books. Actually, my whole family is. My oldest son (8) and my husband have been tearing through them as well. I work as an online teacher to kids in China, so it was great to learn more about China's history through this quick read.
December 9, 2023
Well written middle reader about the Great Wall. Like all WHOHQ books this book is full of local history, people, and trivia about China. Did you know China under Shi Huang Di was a fraction of the size it is now. Today China is the fourth largest country in the world.
February 14, 2024
Favorite fact: at the time of Nixon's famous photo op on Great Wall the Communist Party was actively dynamiting hundreds of miles of it. It was seen as a relic of the past that was incompatible with the Cultural Revolution.
September 21, 2017
This series is not only great for my daughter. I'm not only reminding myself of history I learned long ago, but am convinced I'm learning things I never learned.
April 12, 2018
A quick middle-grade reader that succinctly covers the history of the Great Wall. Interesting and factual, without being too grim. Great for the 8yo, but also informative for me.
June 26, 2018
If u like geography or history it's the perfect book, but if not...it's also a good book! I really liked it so I can recommend it to u so...yeah...Love you guys!!! Bye!
October 10, 2018
My 2nd graders were really into it, and it was perfect for our unit on ancient China.
December 26, 2018
I learned not only a lot about the Great Wall but also about Chinese history. These books are great.
September 3, 2019
A succinct history of China for kids.
December 5, 2019
wow!!!!!
April 1, 2020
The sentence structure is pretty simple, but the book provides a vast deal more of China’s history than I expected.
May 3, 2020
I can't recommend this series enough!
December 7, 2020
O carte ce îmbogățește vocabularul, formează cultura generală. O recomand!
April 2, 2021
Really good information about the Great Wall and the history of China. My son and I enjoyed reading this with our study of China for the month.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews