The Silk Route: 7,000 Miles of History – A Lavishly Illustrated Picture Book About Ancient Commerce and Cultural Exchange for Children

by John S. Major, Stephen Fieser (Illustrator)

A fascinating and accessible historical picture book about commerce, trade, and cultural exchange, perfect for classroom use and research. Silk has long been considered a symbol of wealth and luxury. But thousands of years ago, the production of silk cloth was one of China's most prized secrets. So how did silk become one of the most sought-after materials in the world? With lavish illustrations and a highly informative text, The Silk Route traces the early history of the silk trade—from the mulberry groves of China to the marketplace in Byzantium—and explores how two of the world's greatest empires were brought together, forever opening the channels of commerce between East and West. A treasure through the years, this book is perfect for the classroom and independent book reports.

Genres: History, China, Asia, Nonfiction, Picture Books, Ancient History, Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

First published May 12, 1995

Reviews

[Gloria Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of knowledge in a concise manner.....

[Ardyth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this picture book which takes us along the Silk Road from Chang'an to Byzantium.

The illustrations are vivid and overall quite good, except with close-ups of faces. Unfortunately, this book -- which is otherwise a wonderful introduction to people of different backgrounds mixing and trading as a norm -- gets too many facial features wrong. When an 8th century Chinese imperial soldier looks like he isn't Han Chinese at all, something isn't right. (I'm not as familiar on a daily basis with peoples of the steppe nations / Persia / Iraq and don't feel equipped to comment). The artist does well when he sticks to impressionist styles for people, and impression or detail with land and city scapes.

Am I making a big deal out of nothing? I think stuff like this is a factor in Americans' poor comprehension of world politics and history. "They all look the same to me" etc

There are some inaccuracies (common misunderstandings?) about religions & philosophies which don't need to be of huge concern *IF* this is not the only reading about Silk Road nations you and your kids do. But if this is the only book, these become more important.

Back to the positives... each two-page spread discusses a stop on the route, and it's all very engaging. From bustling market to desert to oasis to perilous mountains. I think elementary kids will have a sense of adventure about it.

Advice for grown ups: skim through the text & find the mentioned cities in your current-day atlas or similar map, and keep it handy for when you flick back and forth in the text to see the progress There is a map in the book which renders sweeps of influence (China, India, Persia) but the places where most of these stops are actually located -- Kazakhstan, Tajikstan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan -- are not identified.

[4th Grade · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Silk Route:7,000 Miles of History

The Silk Route has curiosity,amazement and human connection.
The merchant caravan explored all over the world.
The problem was that the route was difficult and dangerous because
of the journey along the Silk Route.
They came together to protect themselves from bandits and reduce
risks during the journey.
The Merchant was adventurous so he explored new lands.
The middle had a journey because he travelled along the route.
The writing was informative so it taught me a lot.
Read this book if you want to learn about the history.

[Bernardo Sanchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am very fond of the middle east, it has so much rich culture and diversity that you would not be able to find in any other place in the world and it is so spectacular that this book is a great one for students and children to read about this amazing place, and would want more people to have the opportunity to read this book and learn more about the silk route and also about how it is important to how trade and economics can run.

[Riley Yoder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised by just him much I enjoyed this book, I usually don’t seek out informational picture books. I thought that the information was pretty easily understood however I do think without some kind of background information there would a lot of questions from children who don’t know much about those countries or goods. I thought the illustrations were fantastic.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great picture book with beautiful drawings and informative storytelling about the Silk Route...makes it feel much more 'personal', rather than a textbook stating the path of the Silk Route and what they traded.

[Willow · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Silk Route is a solid introduction to the Silk Road and some of the major trading towns that stretch from China to Europe. I wish that the book went a little deeper into how the Silk Road was actually many many roads, but we were able to cover that idea using other resources.

[Matthew Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

The pictures are excellent! Add on top of that the maps and the facts and this makes an awesome book!

[Desi A · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting book that came in his school library bag this week.

[Jenni Jex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book alongside Chengli and the Silk Road Caravan helped the kids learn about each city along the route. The illustrations were big and colorful.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really nice text for bringing together some history and geography my third grader has been studying.

[Rhonda Gregware · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picture book; informative, the last three pages go into a closer look at the silk trade route and how it affected European and Asian history.

[Geo Hendrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

it's amazing the things people went through to make money.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This non-fiction book about the Silk Road was fantastic. All of my knowledge about the Silk road was about what was traded on it, the global significance, and the gruesome death tool constructing the route. This story is meant for a younger audience, but is pact full of content. It feature illustrations and a map of the Silk road. It highlights the major cities on the way, and the two empires and either end of the Silk road. This story is appropriate for children and I would use it while studying history or just choose it for story times. I think the story of a 7000 mile trail will inspire my students and spark their imaginations.

[Allison Weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives lots of great information on the silk route. The author made the facts interesting, instead of just reciting them. The pictures would help students visualize what the time period looked like in the region. I really like how the book is organized by cities. This would be a great history and geography lesson!

[Samina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A 7,000 mile journey across the East, sharing cultures and goods. This book does a really good job going through the different place people would travel to for their good in chronological order. This book would be good to teach history of the silk route and chronological order or sequencing.

[Rose]

950.1 Maj

[Kl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a great introduction for myself and my kids. Lots of topics covered in such a short book.

[Teri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great resource.

[Erin]

Normally, I don't review picture books, but I really liked this one. It gave an interesting and informative picture of what might happen on the silk route at each stop, and it was laid out in an easily understandable, well-thought-out way. The pictures were beautiful, as well.