The Silk Road: Explore the World's Most Famous Trade Route with 20 Projects (Build It Yourself)
Following the lead of the more than two-dozen other titles in the Build It Yourself series, this survey uses a select but diverse set of handicraft projects to enhance general accounts of the Silk Road�s major cultures, geographical features, arts, inventions, and long history. The central narrative is supported with maps, a time line, and a generous set of further resources and may be more valuable to researchers of the Silk Road�s past, present, and significance than the projects, which range from making lagman noodles from scratch to building a real abacus to constructing a model yurt to keeping a travel journal modeled on the itchy-footed Ibn Battuta�s, as well as covering effective techniques for market bargaining. The projects vary radically in difficulty and often require a certain level of artistic skill or such hard-to-find materials as old bicycle-tire tubes and clear flat glass marbles. Though monochrome illustrations that are largely redrawn pictures of artifacts or scenery give this overview a utilitarian look, the topic is intriguing, and the volume will appeal to an interested reader. Grades 4-6. --John Peters--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.