The Great Wall of China [Hardcover]

The Great Wall of China by Leonard Everett Fisher falls into a rather odd category. Parents should be aware of the content of this particular work before they make the purchase. I personally liked the work and used this work to lead a discussion with a group of children age 12 and 13. While the book is meant for children younger, it brings out aspects of the building of this wall that I personally feel may not be suitable for the very young. (Yes, I realize the reading recommendation on this one is 9-12, but even so, it is normally filled with books for a much younger age and can be found in many second grade library shelves. Personally, I think that 9 years old is stretching it a bit, especially if there is not an adult moderator present).

There is the aspect of violence. The book does depict people being whipped by soldiers as they are forced into virtual slave labor and it depicts the agony on their faces as they are ripped from the arms of their families and loved ones. The story tells us that those who tried to run away from the project, or complained a lot, were buried alive in this wall. The pictures are in dark, somber tones and the entire book has a rather grim overall feeling.

Now I am a strong believer in telling children the facts of life about the world around them, in particular when it comes to history; but also strongly feel that there is a time and place and appropriate intellectual and physical age that children should be exposed to the entire truth. The age group that this work is targeted for, in my opinion, is a bit young. Being buried alive is not something I want a six or seven year old child going to bed at night worried about.

The drawings in this work are powerful, I will grant you that. I personally liked them, but then again, I am an old man and have seen much, much worse. The story is well told, although it does leave some major historical facts out...playing a bit loose with time elements and the like. When using this book to lead the discussion, I found myself time and again having to add information or explain facts that I should not have had to do.

As I said, children need to learn about such things, it is extremely important they not get a diet of sugar coated history as we have been down that road and have found it does not work very well. I peeve is with the age appropriateness of this work and not the artistic quality.

On the other hand, making decisions of this sort is the responsibility of each parent; they know their kids the best and know what they can and should be able to handle. I just feel that the parent should know what they are getting when they purchase this one.

I am giving this one three stars even though artistically it is probably worth more. The writing is good, but as I indicated, it leaves much out. I do feel as long as this subject is being brought up, the brutality of the whole situation should be examined more closely and the age recommendation should be jacked-up quite a bit. Parents should certainly review this one before they read it to their very young.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

Leonard Everett Fisher has created such a beautiful set of portraits of this ancient and mysterious culture. My elementary students laughed in delight of the rhythmical musings of the great emperor and were able to remain focused during the entire story. The story as written by Mr. Fisher lent itself to further discussions about the implications of building the Great Wall, including a cost-benefit analysis of the labor lost in constructing such a feat of wonder! I highly recommend this book to anyone for its illustrous drawings and the language chosen to convey this important part of human history.

Actually, the"tale" is grim, but true. Workers were buried alive. Some on purpose. Those who refuse to learn from history are destined to repeat it. The point is whether or not you feel your child is ready to handle the harsher realities of history. Better to wait than to doctor it up to make it more palatable. All ethnic groups are guilty of atrocities of one sort or another. It's the human condition. That doesn't make one a racist.

On the other hand, a book shouldn't be chosen solely on the basis of its artistic value either, but I find black and white drawings to be captivating. Garth Williams, for example, does a beautiful job of depicting the Laura Ingalls Wilder series. If there is a problem with the paper quality, take that up with the publisher. It's not the book's fault. :)

Based on the excerpts and the reviews that I have read thus far, I'm giving the book the benefit of the doubt and 3 stars, only because I have to, and I hate to see a book maligned because of the boos and hisses for lack of political correctness. That's what textbooks are for.