Member Reviews

'Ancient world magnified' is both educational and full of fun. Each page teaches you about different past civilizations, while also providing a game of items to find within the illustrations. It is very where's waldo-esque. I reviewed a digital edition of this book and can't wait to experience the print edition to get the full experience.

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This is indeed the most concise book about ancient civilisation in the world. Easy to read and understand, I do recommend this book to those who are curious but not to keen on reading. And with a lot of small pictures referring to some people or things in the page to find, this is also a fun read.

I do enjoyed reading this volume, and feel smarter once finished. And I can always start over and try to find extra materials given in the back of the book.

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A really neat reference book about ancient civilizations all over the world. Each section includes introductory information about a different civilization and time period, along with things for kids to search for. The entire book features beautiful illustrations. This would be perfect for elementary school aged children and is fascinating for adults.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.

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Uncover Ancient History in a new and fun way... through your magnifying glass. Spanning the continents and thousands of years of history, Ancient World Magnified presents history in a fun way by combining facts, colorful illustrations, and over 200 hidden items to spot. Join the search and find adventure while learning about the Greeks, Romans, Aztecs, and more!

This Where's Waldo style book attempts to present Ancient History in a new and engaging manner. The illustrations are fun, and the information presented is just the right amount without being overwhelming. I loved that the information is presented chronologically, and there's a glossary included at the back. This book would make a fun addition to any Ancient History unit, or just a a fun look and find treasure.

*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

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Kid's book, my left ear! This is for EVERYONE (maybe not archaeologists and similar) who just might find themselves interested in the ancient things they do not know about from the Tigris and Euphrates all the way into China. The info is comfortable comprehensive and the detailed illustrations (think Where's Waldo) are delightfully intricate. I am really looking forward to the print version (it'll be easier on older eyes) and sharing it with the kidz.
I requested and received a free temporary ebook from Quarto Publishing Group – Wide Eyed Editions via NetGalley. Thank you!

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Ancient World Magnified
Author, David Long
Illustrator, Andy Rowland
Publisher: Quarto Publishing Group, Wide- Eyed Editions
Pub date: June 1, 2021

What an interesting non- fiction children's book! With your magnifying glass that comes with Long's hard cover book, follow the timeline from Mesopotamia in 5000 BC to the Aztec Empire in 1160 AD. Explore these fascinating places and incredible times in history and learn what life was like during these ancient civilizations.

Each section is illustrated with 2 full pages challenging the reader/ detective with "10 Things to Spot" that come with detailed descriptions teaching him about this particular time in history. There's even a "Glossary of Famous Figures" from each part of the timeline as well as a special "Can You Find?" section where the detective has to go back and try to remember where they saw a particular scene.

This interactive and educational book is perfect for any child (or adult) who is interested in history, as well as any child who loves engaging books as these. What a wonderful bonus to uncover the secrets of the ancient world! The illustrations were just amazing!

Long has also published Pirates Magnified, Egypt Magnified, and Castles Magnified and I can't wait to share those with my history- loving children as well.

Thank you to NetGalley, Quarto Publishing Group, David Long, and Andy Rowland for the e- advanced reader copy of this book. I loved it and was so happy to share my review.

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A fantastic, fact-filled exploration into ancient history—complete with rich and informative illustrations that turn history into edutainment!

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This is one of the coolest books I've ever read! I really wish I had the magnifying glass and a physical book, but on the ebook I can zoom in. All the pictures are so detailed and really colorful!

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This book is excellent, well drawn, informative and a lot of fun. My children loved it. I particularly enjoyed the fact lesser known empire such as that of Parthia are included, this is a perfect starting point for a range of historical topics.

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I reviewed a copy made available by the publisher via Netgalley - Thank you very much for that!

First of all, I would like to mention how glad I was that really different ancient civilizations can be examined.

The small search images make reading aloud playful and interactive.
Above all, the illustrations show a rich variety of architectures of the respective civilization and everyday life, but I think that this might be overwhelming for a younger audience.

What bothers me is that in the part about Mesopotamia it is mentioned in which countries it is located and Kurdistan is unfortunately not mentioned, Kurdistan has no legal status, however it doesn‘t change the fact that this soil is also Kurdistan.

I think it's great that there are explanations for the images you're looking for, and the timetable and glossary at the end of the book are also exciting and very good to know.

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This book is like a cross between a nicely illustrated history book and Where's Wally? The book is organised chronologically, with each page displaying a detailed image of a different place and time. The information is concise and each spread contains descriptions and images of ten significant items from the period, for the reader to find. There is so much to look at on each page and I can think of several children at school who will love spending time poring over this book.

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3.5☆ A Fun Historical Search and Find Children's Book.

Ancient World Magnified is a search and find educational book that travels through the Ancient World, looking into Historical information.

This was particularly tough for me to review as on one hand this book is 4/5☆ however i read it using a digital format and it was so hard to see the pages to search without constantly zooming in. It just doesn't work.
If I had of been reading it via hardback or paperback then this would of made All the difference.

Each section gives you some historical information about the area you are visiting, and then 10 pictures that you have to search and find in each of the scenes.

The illustrations are beautifully presented and eye catching. Perfect for the search and find type of book.

If you love Where's Wally kinda books then Ancient World Magnified will be right up your street!
This book would make a lovely present for someone who loves learning, history and having fun.


Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group and Netgalley for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

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This was a cute children's book from which you can learn a thing or two. I didn't like the art all that much and it was really hard to read on the phone as the images were all streached in length. But it was okay. I always like a book from which you can learn a thing or two.

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The Ancient World Magnified is an educational eye-spy book. It is awesome! Kids who love eye spy will be tricked into learning with this text! I can't wait to put it on my shelf!

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This book has really neat illustrations that brings in a reader and shows how each ancient civilization lived. It has a spot it connection to learn more about the people and jobs. I read this to my 6 yr old and he lost interest after about two groups of people but I think it was because there was just so much on the page he felt overwhelmed. It might be best for a bit older of a reader or a child that likes history.

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A fun book to know about Mesopotamia, Indus Valley Civilization, Egypt, Olmec, Carthage, Kingdom of Kush, Neo-Bababylonian Empire, Persian Empire, Greece, Qin Dynasty, Xiongnu Empire, Parthian Empire, Roman Empire, Kingdom of Aksum, Mayan Civilization, Aztec Empire and famous figures.

Each page described the mentioned areas with some fun activities to do along while reading the book.

The art is so detailed and informative. Go for this one.

You will have lots of fun with the kids.

Thank you Authors and the publisher for the advance reading copy.

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Learn history from 50,000 BC to 1206 AD with this amazing Where’s Waldo like book! Each civilisation features includes a brief history along with a captivating drawing of how they lived. With your magnifying glass (or zoom feature if you’re reading online) you have to spot 10 things in every image. At the end of the book it include another 58 extra images for you to look back at the book and find. It includes also drawings of some of the famous rulers, a timeline, and a glossary.

This may be a children’s book, but as an architecture student I loved every page of it as well! I had a hard time picking my favorite part but my top 3 go to: the Mayans, Mesopotamia, and Rome.

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Well I know and like these publishers from the days when I would get physical copies of a lot of their output, but blow me when I downloaded this one they didn't include the magnifying glass that comes with it. Tsk, tsk. Still, I do have a zoom in function, and that's all well and good with a book like this. It's an educational variant on the Where's Wally/Waldo concept, with a huge double-page diorama of a historical civilisation at every turn, and a list of things to both learn about and of course spot. Oh, and then a second list at the end to make sure we go back and look over it all again. So we start with the thriving town at the foot of a Mesopotamian ziggurat, with its farmers, scribes and people honouring the goddess of beer, who is someone certainly deserving of tribute, before visiting the Indus Valley, Egypt and the Olmec empire. Factor in the Kushites and Aksumites and you can see this is probably going to have a broader scope than the equivalent from the time I went to school. The artwork isn't tremendously full(-on), and compromises between showing the architecture honestly and the need to have cutaways to show the life inside the houses (and even the non-life under the temple tombs) have had to be made, but generally there is little wrong about this. I'm all for Reithian edutainment values, and this has them in spades – you don't even have to squint to spot them.

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