Book review: Smithsonian's 'North America: A Fold-Out Graphic History' is a unique way to study major historical happenings

When I was in college, one of my history professors (I had a lot of them) told us he didn't care if we memorized the exact dates for happenings. He thought it was a waste of brain-power and, instead, told us that as long as we had the date within 10 years, we'd be fine.

Best. Idea. Ever.

Because, really, is it super important to know the French Revolution happened in 1789? What if all you knew was that it happened around 1780? Or around 1800? Both those dates are pretty close and, unless you're on Jeopardy, they'd probably be fine answers.

Which brings me to what I appreciate about "North America: A Fold-Out Graphic History." While this book does mention several exact dates, it also give a lot of rough date estimates and date ranges, something I really appreciated. I don't want my kids getting bogged down on dates. I'd much rather they understand WHY historical events happened and what we can learn from those events.

Image from Amazon

Now, if you're an exact date lover, don't get worried. From the 1600s on, "North America" is pretty exact. For instance, it teaches that in 1619 British investors imported wives to the Virginia colony, so it wouldn't die out. It doesn't tell the month and day they arrived, but it's precise on the year.

Let's talk a little more about the years in this book. "North America" starts at 11,000 BCE with people using spears to hunt and ends with 2019 being the first year indigenous women were elected to the U.S. Congress. So in 20 pages it covers a lot of history!

Moving on...

This book unfolds to an eight-foot timeline! Super cool. Any time a book can do something unique--and let's face it, there are a lot of mundane books out there--kids notice. And unfolding was something my kids noticed and loved.

One of the reasons they enjoyed unfolding the book was because they could see the illustrations in a different light. These illustrations are pretty entertaining and very much scream "kid" loud and clear.

Now, "North America" is very much a breadth, rather than a depth kind of book. Each historical happening is only talked about for a paragraph or two. However, it's also illustrated and placed on a rough map, helping kids understand where the event took place. I really liked how well author Sarah Albee did on condensing huge historical happenings, many of which have entire books written about them, down to a paragraph or two. This book can help kids understand the broad picture of history and give them great ideas of happenings they may want to learn more about.

"North America" is a wonderful learning tool for kids with nothing offensive in it.

Author Albee writes books for children. Illustrator William Exley lives in England.

Image from Amazon

Book breakdown:
20 folding timeline pages
Full-color illustrations
Best for ages: 7-12
Educational factor: medium-high
Religious content: This book does not cover the Big Bang Theory or God as the creator of life. Rather, it just jumps into people living on North America.
Parents could be concerned about: Nothing.