Weapons by Edwin Tunis
When my boys were little I banned guns. Then they picked up sticks which were swords, guns etc. So I decided to embrace their love of tools of defense;-) I preferred to think along the lines of self defense, fighting off lions and tigers or evil villains, who had come to invade our shores. Mothers, visitors and younger siblings can’t be hurt because it is not right to kill civilians.
This wonderful book gives you a chance to learn history together while embracing their delight in weapons through the ages. Brilliant for late readers because they can learn so much just from the illustrations. But it is not just the illustrations which are good, Edwin Tunis was a passionate lover of history, which he communicates through his wonderfully detailed text. His books are similar to David Macaulay’s Pyramid: Brilliant for late readers because they can learn so much from the illustrations.
We loved Oars, Sails and Steam: A picture books of ships as well as Frontier Living, Wheels and Indians. We are looking forward to exploring more of his work.
A child could spend a year in Oars, Sails and Steam and not lack for learning. We found the glossary of Nautical Terms in the back very helpful.
Here is a another more thorough review of his books.
Here is the link for some of his books at the NZ National Library
Here is the link for the books at the Auckland Libraries
Click on the image to buy it from Fish Pond