LIFE: Our Century in Pictures for Young People

The 20th century began with the invention of Kodak's Brownie camera and the first flight by the Wright brothers and ended with Nelson Mandela's return to political power and the deaths of John F. Kennedy Jr., Mother Teresa, and Princess Diana. And who better to pictorially recount the events of this epoch than Life magazine? Divided not by decade, but by nine historical clusters of years (1900-13, 1914-19, 1920-29, 1930-39, 1940-45, 1946-63, 1964-75, 1976-92, 1993-99), this photographic chronicle brings to life the amazing, horrifying, poignant, and thrilling moments that made up a century. Each chapter is introduced with an essay by a distinguished children's writer, including Jane Yolen, Avi, Gary Paulsen, Patrick and Fredrick McKissack, and Lois Lowry, and includes special sections called "Turning Points," which trace a trend or event from the beginning to the end of the century. Concluding each chapter are "Requiems," in which the lives of important people who died during those years are recalled. But it's the more than 380 remarkable photographs from Life magazine's archives that make this volume truly epic. Young readers who spent only a few years in the previous century will look with awe and wonder at the pictures taken during their parents' and grandparents' time, telling about Woodstock, the Holocaust, Babe Ruth, Bill Gates, the discovery of atomic power, and Sigmund Freud. From politics to art to technology to science to social change, this book touches on it all, and will be a tremendous resource for years to come. (Ages 12 and older) --Emilie Coulter