A Journey Through Art: A Global History

This book takes readers on a journey through history, focusing on cities–or significant human settlements–and narrating human ways of life. The book interprets “art” more broadly, and uses it as a platform to explore facets of global history. It is divided into three (roughly equal) chronological sections that explore highlights in human history. The first double-page spread depicts the broader built environment as the artist conceives it to be during that time period. The narrative broadly describes the people living in the area. The second double-page spread shows details of the artwork and provides commentary (cultural, historical, and artistic) on the various artifacts illustrated, and also on some that are not pictured. The scrapbook format invites readers to interact with the pictures, makes information easy to understand and retrieve later, and the combination of pictures and text make a greater impact on readers.

Of course, specialist readers may wonder why certain artifacts are included while others are omitted, but this is prone to any work that aims to span such a vast topic. Each section covers some cities (or areas of human habitation) that are non-western, and are likely to be unfamiliar to middle school readers (and perhaps even the general reader). Overall, it is an excellent book to spark interest in readers and demonstrate that artistic expression is not just within the realm of the fine arts but can have utility as well.