A Street Through Time: A 12,000-Year Walk Through History
Written by Dr. Anne Millard
Illustrated by Steve Noon
DK Publishing, Inc., 1998

A Street Through Time chronicles the "story of a street," taking the reader on a journey through the different ages of a human settlement, from the Stone Age (10,000 B.C.) to the present day.

The street, set in present-day England, is the scene for winter habitation by Stone Age hunter-gatherers (10,000 B.C.), the first primitive farming (2,000 B.C.), Iron Age tools and battles (600 B.C.), the new way of life brought by the Roman Empire (A.D. 100), a fall back into the Dark Ages provoked by Barbarian and Viking invaders (600s through 900s), Medieval feudalism and trade (1200s through 1400s), the Black Plague (1347), religious sparring in the 1600s, the relative prosperity of the Enlightenment (1700s), the onset and growth of the Industrial Revolution (starting in the early 1800s), and finally the modern city.

Each time period is represented by a double page spread of Noon’s detailed and colorful illustrations. The illustrations are accompanied by short descriptions and bordered by informative explanations of each time period’s unique features. Labels identify buildings, occupations, and other features.

Simply by turning a page, readers can experience subtle and drastic changes, innovations, and regressions of the street. At the same time, if readers look closely enough, they will notice how important buildings, monuments, and institutions persist through time. For example, a monumental stone circle, created in 2000 B.C., lasts in deteriorating condition through the Middle Ages. The elevated site of a primitive wooden fort in the Iron Age is the site of a stone castle in the 1200s, and the castle’s ruins persist to "The Street Today." These aspects of the book instill a strong historical perspective in readers, even as they observe the many progressions the street undergoes.

A Street Through Time plants seeds of an urban planning perspective in young readers. One of the book’s primary focuses is the different uses of the river over time, such as fishing, trade, and recreation, to name just three. Buildings serve different and multiple purposes over time as well; as the street progresses, each double page is filled with a larger and larger assortment of shops, residences, industries, and government buildings. The authors are not hesitant to depict the street’s grim realities as well as its successes, as "The Invaders," "The Plague Strikes!" and "Grim Times" attest. In addition to historical perspective, another strength of A Street Through Time is its wealth of information presented in a colorful and engaging way. Readers could spend at least a half an hour on just one double page, and the book has fourteen of them.

* Visit the publisher's website for information about purchasing the book.