Great Medieval Projects

March 1, 2009
Gr 4-7-This book looks at medieval society, folklore, and culture between the years 350 to 1450 and provides some hands-on activities along the way. Divided into 12 chapters, the text relates information on kings and queens, knights and armor, warfare, everyday life, and religious life. Projects include making a trebuchet, a marshmallow cannon, some period recipes, and a thatched roof. The material is well written and interesting. The "Words to Know" sections are not consistent in their placement in each chapter; some words appear before the list and, in other cases, in the next section. However, all of the words appear in the glossary so readers can skip directly to it to find words they may not understand. The directions for the projects are easy to follow for the most part, but the location of the supply list is inconsistent from one project to the next. All of the drawings, including those for the finished products, are in the same blue color as the text. Aside from some organizational problems, this is a useful text.G. Alyssa Parkinson, Highland Township Library, MI

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