WONDERS OF THE WORLD takes a fascinating look at fourteen different ancient and modern ‘Marvels and Monuments’ throughout the world. This sturdy, lift the flap board book makes learning about historical monuments fun, it’s full of really interesting facts. Margaux Carpentier’s illustrations are bold and colourful and they are packed with details which give an amazing insight into each period of history.
The first double spread has a map of the world which shows us where each monument is located – there are seven ancient and seven modern monuments featured. The Ancient monuments came from a list compiled by a Greek writer called Antipater and the Modern monuments were chosen by the public in 2000. There is also an explanation about the significance of the number seven.
Each double spread shows an ancient monument on the left and a modern monument on the right. Flaps, doors and wheels between the pages give extra information about each wonder, its history and significant people. The final spread shows seven natural wonders including an amazing pop up volcano.
Ancient wonders include The Great Pyramid of Giza, The Great Wall of China and The Colosseum. We were amazed that it took The Great Wall of China nine years to build and we had no idea that there was a maze of underground tunnels and cells underneath The Colosseum. The Great Pyramid can be opened to show all the different chambers and we were particularly interested in lifting the flap to find out about Mummies!
Modern wonders include The Taj Mahal, The Hanging Gardens of Babylon and Machu Picchu. The illustration of The Hanging Gardens is our favourite, a mix of lush greens and blue, it’s interesting that some people don’t believe in the existence of the gardens as no trace of them has ever been found. There is so much interesting information about The Taj Mahal including how long it took to build, how many elephants helped and how it was camouflaged during World War Two.
WONDERS OF THE WORLD would make a fabulous addition to a class or school library. The sturdy flaps and pages make it a great book for all primary age children and it can be used to stimulate more research into the seven wonders of the ancient or modern world.
Author: Isabel Otter / Illustrator: Margaux Carpentier
Thank you to 360 degrees for sending us a review copy of this fascinating book.
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