Ancient Civilizations for Children

History. Who cares? Irrelevant old stuff, right? Well, let's compare epochs. Rome, circa 98 A.D.: common sights might include a middle-aged, wine-bellied Roman W.A.S.P. (White pre-Anglo-Saxon Pagan) male wolfing down olives and chugging vino while watching Christians being thrown to the lions. Detroit, circa 1998: common sights might include a middle-aged, beer-bellied American W.A.S.P. male wolfing down Doritos and chugging brewski while watching the Steelers being thrown to the Lions. Obvious lesson: men are pigs, historically speaking. Joking aside, history is important and the Ancient Civilizations for Children series offers a fast-paced, exciting and informative look at the accomplishments of early peoples. Hosted by the character of archaeologist Arizona Smith and a young detective-in-training, each of the nine episodes combines dramatic re-enactments, on-location footage, maps and animation, and archaeological finds to explore the social, political and cultural aspects of each civilization. I watched the Ancient Rome episode, which covered the myth of Romulus and Remus, drew parallels between the Roman senate and our contemporary system of checks and balances, visited the ruins of Pompeii, pointed out the composition of Roman society (patricians, plebeians and slaves) and touched on the lives (and deaths) of gladiators. The accompanying guide contains relevant vocabulary, discussion questions and useful web sites. The other titles in the series are: Ancient Aegean, Ancient Africa, Ancient China, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Inca, Ancient Maya and Ancient Mesopotamia. Once again, Schlessinger Media has proven that it's possible to create excellent, affordable programming for classrooms or public library collections at reasonable prices. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. Aud: E, I, P. (R. Pitman)