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Enigmas of History
Searching for Atlantis
Searching for Atlantis transports readers to historical sites to learn about the fascinating mysteries and secrets of Atlantis. Using a perfect mix of colorful photographs and illustrations of locations as well as artifacts, well-written and easy-to-understand text, and maps, aerial images, timelines, and glossaries, the books presents the most recent findings and theories of scientists, archaeologists, historians, and folklorists concerning questions that have puzzled experts for hundreds, or even thousands, of years.
48 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2013
6 people want to read
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World Book
1,434 books14 followersAs a leader in education publishing for over 100 years, World Book’s mission continues to focus on developing a collaborative digital learning platform that is backed by editorial excellence, invaluable resources, and effective tools that support personalized teaching and learning—serving over 100 million students across 65+ countries.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 4, 2016
I received Enigmas of History: Searching for Atlantis by World Book through a promotion and figured it would be a good donation to my local library's children's section. Diving into World Book encyclopedias when I was a kid had a very big influence on the kind of reader I grew up to be. I don't remember there being a dedicated World Book Kids line so I was curious how that might differ from the encyclopedias and how well the brand would translate for younger readers.
I think this is a solid book for a fairly large age group depending on who it is read by and with and the child's level of interest in mythology. My dad tied in bits of mythology with folklore/fairytales and I think that's a great way to introduce many general aspects to younger children. As far as reading on their own, I think this would be great for children ages 8 to 10. It has short sections which prompt easy breaks in between and the chance to discuss what was just read. World Book does a good job of summarizing several of the most popular ideas concerning Atlantis, it's creation and possible demise, without the ideas becoming overwhelming. It's just enough information that interest might be piqued and a child might be inspired to learn more on their own in quite a few different areas. In Atlantis in particular, of course, but also in Greek mythology, archeology (pictures of ruins are included in the book and scientific dating methods are briefly mentioned), politics (the supposed ruling structure of Atlantis is discussed and its marrying with beliefs and customs of the era and of the Hellenes at large), etc. I also think this book might be a good precursor to discussing and reading further about the idea of utopia. Plato put an emphasis in Atlantis falling because of a lapse in virtue, one that was formed in greed and violence. Searching for Atlantis mentions this to enough of a degree and with enough background information concerning the relevant mythology that a discussion on how virtue is determined, what is ethical vs. what isn't, and how actions can impact more than one person/why that should matter to us could be easily inspired.
As much as I like that this kind of discussion could stem from this book, I also like that the mythology mentioned in Searching for Atlantis is balanced well with what might have happened to Atlantis and the surrounding area to prompt its disappearance. Last year I read Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded by Simon Winchester and Winchester did a great job of covering subjects or areas of subjects I'd never delved into before in my reading. Having a foundation of general knowledge concerning how our world works is important and, while you never know what avenue your child might go down and what they might connect with during their learning process, it's good to bolus that foundation with information from every area possible. I think Searching for Atlantis provides good discussion material concerning natural disasters, the potential for and the ramifications of, as well as details from enough other areas that this would be an easy book for a child to connect with and possibly revisit as their interests mature.
For a 48 page book, I think it's impressive that Searching for Atlantis has such a good range of potential inspiration for further learning. I'd say it is definitely worth the read. I haven't had a chance to check out any other books from the series and can't comment on Enigmas of History as a whole.
I think this is a solid book for a fairly large age group depending on who it is read by and with and the child's level of interest in mythology. My dad tied in bits of mythology with folklore/fairytales and I think that's a great way to introduce many general aspects to younger children. As far as reading on their own, I think this would be great for children ages 8 to 10. It has short sections which prompt easy breaks in between and the chance to discuss what was just read. World Book does a good job of summarizing several of the most popular ideas concerning Atlantis, it's creation and possible demise, without the ideas becoming overwhelming. It's just enough information that interest might be piqued and a child might be inspired to learn more on their own in quite a few different areas. In Atlantis in particular, of course, but also in Greek mythology, archeology (pictures of ruins are included in the book and scientific dating methods are briefly mentioned), politics (the supposed ruling structure of Atlantis is discussed and its marrying with beliefs and customs of the era and of the Hellenes at large), etc. I also think this book might be a good precursor to discussing and reading further about the idea of utopia. Plato put an emphasis in Atlantis falling because of a lapse in virtue, one that was formed in greed and violence. Searching for Atlantis mentions this to enough of a degree and with enough background information concerning the relevant mythology that a discussion on how virtue is determined, what is ethical vs. what isn't, and how actions can impact more than one person/why that should matter to us could be easily inspired.
As much as I like that this kind of discussion could stem from this book, I also like that the mythology mentioned in Searching for Atlantis is balanced well with what might have happened to Atlantis and the surrounding area to prompt its disappearance. Last year I read Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded by Simon Winchester and Winchester did a great job of covering subjects or areas of subjects I'd never delved into before in my reading. Having a foundation of general knowledge concerning how our world works is important and, while you never know what avenue your child might go down and what they might connect with during their learning process, it's good to bolus that foundation with information from every area possible. I think Searching for Atlantis provides good discussion material concerning natural disasters, the potential for and the ramifications of, as well as details from enough other areas that this would be an easy book for a child to connect with and possibly revisit as their interests mature.
For a 48 page book, I think it's impressive that Searching for Atlantis has such a good range of potential inspiration for further learning. I'd say it is definitely worth the read. I haven't had a chance to check out any other books from the series and can't comment on Enigmas of History as a whole.
Displaying 1 of 1 review