Timelines and the Sequence of  History

Young children live very much in the present so part of learning about history is learning that things change - that Mum was once a little girl, that there hasn't always been light available at the flick of a switch and that dinosaurs once roamed the earth. Books which look at how  a particular family, place or aspect of life have changed through the years can help develop the concept of the sequence of history and trigger curiosity about the past.

A Street through Time

Ages 6 to 100

Illustrated by Steve Noon and written by Dr Anne Millard
(Dorling Kindersley)
Subtitled 'a 12000 year journey along the same street', each of the 14 double-page spreads in this book shows the same street at a different period of history from prehistoric times to the present day.  Each picture is  packed full of fascinating detail with the fronts of the houses cut away to show the activity inside. The small amount of text gives background information for the period and challenges the reader to find particular people and events in the picture. But that challenge is hardly necessary - the pictures are so interesting that you are drawn into them and the more you look, the more  you see. There are squabbling children, family crises and delightful touches of humour - all of which combine to make these people from the past come alive in a way rarely achieved in a more orthodox history book. This is a wonderful book for all ages  and a great source of ideas for creative writing. 
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