Barbarians!

by Steven Kroll, Robert Byrd (Illustrator)

The ancient Romans used the word barbarian to describe people who were coarse, rude, or even just foreign. Over time the word has also come to connote bloodthirsty cruelty. But were the Goths, the Huns, the Vikings, and the Mongols as barbaric as we?ve been led to believe? In dynamic, detailed spreads that young readers will pore over, bestselling author Steven Kroll and illustrator Robert Byrd explore how these nomadic warriors lived, worshipped, and celebrated. Their wandering armies brought together Europe and Asia through trade and conquest and, in doing so, changed the world forever.

Genres: History, Picture Books, Nonfiction, Asia, Childrens, Geography

48 pages, Hardcover

First published July 9, 2009

About the author

Stephen Kroll spoke at schools and conferences all over the world. He was married to the journalist, Kathleen Beckett, and they lived in New York City and an old carriage house in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. When he was not writing or traveling, he played a lot of tennis and walked around looking at everything.

Reviews

[Saffron Moon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Illustrated introduction and overview of the Goths, Huns, Vikings and Mongols.

[Lanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

The art in this advanced reader picture book is stunning. But the text is rather dry and it's a lot about several different cultures all at once. :/ it's a fascinating read. But you'd definitely want to give it two or three reads if you actually want to remember anything significant.

Recommended for people who want to learn about ancient cultures, but don't want to read through boring, picture-less adult books.

Because, let's faces, pictures make any educational text instantly better. :)

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice overview of the major “Barabarian” people groups during the Middle Ages. We read this before we dive into a chronological study of Middle Ages, so we have a bit of background.

[J-Lynn Van Pelt · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a lot of information packed into this upper level picture book. Barbarian civilizations (like The Goths, The Huns, The Vikings, and The Mongols) and their exploits are discussed.

The book is written by Steven Kroll, a New York Times bestselling author and illustrated by the Newbery-winning artist who created Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices From a Medieval Village.

[Victoria Whipple · Rating 5 out of 5]

This stunningly illustrated book gives broad coverage of the various barbarians who fought for world domination long ago. The book gives a good overview of the Goths, Huns, Vikings and Mongols. An excellent book to start research on one of these groups, and just a fun book to read. After you read this, read "Odd and the Frost Giant" by Neil Gaiman.

[Amanda Northrup · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author attempts to tell us about all the important leaders and battles in 4 different groups of people. This means that there is a lot of complicated history packed into a very short text. Altogether I was left very confused.

[DannyB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations, well written, loved this book. I think my middle school students will love this.