This was a holiday gift from my mother, and, in that sense, it evokes so much that I loved as a child. The historical element, of course, but more than that, detailed pictures and stories within stories. Mr. Noon's artwork is "okay" but the subtle humor is terrific. Much of the content in these complex images is explained, but some isn't. I laughed out loud when I saw the shovel coming up through the floor of the modern day bank. He ties one age into another through the basics -- housing, trade, eating and bathrooms. Yes, there are images throughout showing how people of each age relieved themselves (more naughty than obscene). It's a good tactic. Kids always ask those sorts of questions. The darker sides aren't glorified, but they aren't glossed over. Heads of enemies are displayed in the far distance of one scene, rats swarm the village during plague times. Noon also engages the reader by hiding things in the pictures -- including a time traveler that these old eyes couldn't catch, but young ones might. This is a DK book, and like all DK titles, it is accessible, packed with facts and visually stimulating. There is a glossary at the end as well as an index, although the best learning may come from curiosity raised within each image. Layout is thought-through, and the progressions make sense. My only real complaints are that the gutter sometimes obscures the image as the street becomes more crowded, and there are white lines "outlining" some of the characters and images as the tale unfolds, which seems unnecessarily artificial. That being said, this book did "take me back" to one of my favorite activities as a child -- finding the hidden pictures in the Highlights magazines at the doctor's office. This is one of the few books that is good to buy, rather than borrow. Kids will be able to look, and look again, for a long time.
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