Stone Age Boy by Satoshi Kitamura
| Stone Age Boy by Satoshi Kitamura | |
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| Category: Confident Readers | |
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Reviewer: Keith Dudhnath
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| Summary: A young boy experiences Stone Age life first hand, sparking a life-long interest in archaeology. | |
| Buy? No | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 40 | Date: October 2007 |
| Publisher: Walker Books Ltd | |
| ISBN: 978-1406303353 | |
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When on a walk, a modern young boy trips, falls, and finds himself in the Stone Age. He makes friends with a girl his age, who shows him Stone Age life. They learn how to make tools, light fires, go hunting, and prepare animal skins.
Satoshi Kitamura's book is interesting, informative and worthy, but just lacks a spark to make it truly exciting. It seamlessly blends fiction with non-fiction, and enjoyment with education, but will just be read and enjoyed, rather than read, re-read, and treasured for years. There's nothing particularly wrong with it, but it fails to achieve its full potential.
The illustration is packed with detail to pore over. The colours are vibrant and engaging. Kitamura made a conscious decision to have the illustrations of modern times slightly paler and washed out, which does help to highlight the interest of the Stone Age, but means the beginning and end of the book lack a certain punch.
Stone Age Boy may well strike a chord with a child who enjoys climbing trees and going on adventures, but tends not to love pure fiction, and may not yet have discovered a love for books. Other children may find it's not quite immersive enough to become a long-term favourite.
Thanks to the publishers for sending it to Bookbag. We also have a review of Pot-San's Tabletop Tales by Satoshi Kitamura.
Young historians who enjoy a blend of fact and fiction might also enjoy Michael Foreman's War Game.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Stone Age Boy by Satoshi Kitamura at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Stone Age Boy by Satoshi Kitamura at Amazon.com.
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Keith said:
I might have to reassess my rating! A 2 year old family member (admittedly younger than the target audience) discovered this on my shelf, chose it over all the other wonderful picture books I've raved about recently, and really enjoyed it! Seeing it through his eyes made me enjoy it all the more too.
