Frances Lincoln Children’s Books ISBN 9781847809506 £8.99
A companion book to Discover the Ancient Egyptians, and Discover the Roman Empire, this book explores the Aztec Empire and its demise, brought about largely by Cortes and the Spanish invaders. Presented in exactly the same way as the other books, this volume looks at Aztec history, gods, heroes, life, empire and towns, and the use of sacrifices in order to find favour with the gods. It discusses the origins of the Aztecs, and the Triple Alliance of Texcoco, Tlacopan and Tenochtitlan that was the source of Aztec power and wealth. Tenochtitlan, now buried beneath Mexico City, was once one of the largest cities in the world with a population of around 200,000. The text is accessible and attractive, the images add to the feel of the period, and the book serves as a good introduction and basis for further study of the topic. The pull out map at the back is helpful, but it would have been useful to include Cozumel, where the Spanish first landed, as it is referred to in the text. But the timeline – which is not to scale – is again misleading and prevents pupils from getting a real sense of the time period. I feel the text is very ‘safe’ – there are few, if any, signs of the controversies and debates historians have about the Aztec Empire. This is a useful starting point to explore the world of the Aztecs for upper primary pupils, so some suggestions for further research and study might have been helpful.
Alf Wilkinson, The Historical Association