Book Title: Ancient Games: A History of Sports and Gaming (available here)
Author: Iris Volant
Illustrator: Avalon Nuovo
Publisher: Flying Eye Books
Publication Date: March 2020
Most Suitable for: KS2
Reviewed By: Suzanne Booth
This is a large format hardback book that illustrates the history of sports across thousands of years through the ancient civilisations within which they have evolved.
Ancient Games is a visually stimulating book, with clear illustrations and varied layout that makes it easy to navigate and enjoy the snippets of interesting facts and engaging information. The book covers a wide range of civilisations over and above the familiar cultures commonly studied in schools and gives a broader understanding of other lesser known cultures. As well as how important sport and games were, it also looks at how religions, myths and wars were also integral to people’s way of life, and how they affected the development of sport within these cultures.
Being perfectly published ahead of what would have been the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games, it is no surprise the book covers the development of the Games, which is an ever-popular subject of discussion when it is an Olympic year. But it also does look at the modern-day role of the Olympics and the vision as it stood for Tokyo 2020, which brings the book right up to date.
This is a part of a series of books of this ilk (see also Ancient Warriors and Ancient Wonders) published by award winning Flying Eye books, who have established themselves as publishers of innovative non-fiction titles with an excellent attention to detail and Ancient Games would be an excellent addition to any primary school book corner or library.
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You can order Ancient Games online or from your local bookshop.
Many thanks to the publisher for sending us a review copy of this book and to Review Panel member Suzanne for reviewing it.
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