The Aztecs (Hands-On History)

FIONA MACDONALD has written over 300 history titles for children, specializing in everyday life in the past. She studied history at Cambridge University and at the University of East Anglia. She has taught in schools, adult education and university, and is the author of numerous books for children on historical topics. Her books have been recommended by the TES and the AASL.

Grade 4-6-A biased look at the history and culture of the Aztecs. Amplified by sloppy watercolors, MacDonald's text describes the often harsh realities of their lives in a judgmental manner. The author exhibits little understanding of an agricultural, pre-industrial peoples and even less respect for the Aztecs. Their legends and myths are given short shrift, e.g., the epic of their early wanderings and seach for the eagle eating a snake atop a cactus is completely ignored, yet this motif persists today as an image on the flag of Mexico. Many unsupported statements are made, e.g., the Great Temple is referred to as a "holy and terrifying" place, but human sacrifice is not mentioned to explain this remark; flowers were bought and sold because "the city streets and canals must have been smelly." Many of their accomplishments are belittled, e.g., that their treatment of illness "may unfortunately have hastened the patient's death"; a pottery flute "could play only five notes." Angus McBride's artwork for Life in the Time of Moctezuma and the Aztecs (Steck-Vaughn, 1993) by Roy Burrell is far superior. Clearer descriptions and explanations are available in Frances Berdan's The Aztecs (Chelsea, 1989).
Frances E. Millhouser, Reston Regional Library, VA
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