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This is a very interesting book for the young reader on Mayan heiroglyphs. It is very colorful, exentsively illustrated, and very accessible. I have a few reservations about it, but for the most part, my concerns have been addressed. One of the broad hooks of the book is that in the back are some of the heiroglyphs in relief, so that with paper and pencil, the students can create rubbings and thus arrange the heiroglyphs into their own writing.
The book is very much a survey book. There were many times were I was afraid that some essential fact would be omitted but generally it was eventually included, though often not nearly in the detail I would like. For example, I thought that Yuri Knorosov, a Russian linguist who first showed phonetic properties in the writing system, would be ignored, but his name was eventually included, though of course not in depth. The one huge omission was that of Sir Eric Thompson, who is not mentioned at all. He was the giant of Mayanists in the firs half of the Twentieth Century, who made several significant contributions and was considered the consummate expert on all things Maya. However, he believed there was no phonetic component to the writing system, and was wrong. Almost immediately after his death, the real decipherment of Maya heiroglyphs began. Perhaps it is just desserts for this great academic impediment to be left out of this history book, but it does seem important to me in a book that intends to describe the decipherment of these heiroglyphs that this important struggle (a personality conflict that probably delayed decipherment for fifty years) be left out.
My other primary concern involves the rigor of the book. Some of the illustrations are just illustrations by Sarah Jane English, and while Maya-inspired do leave a lot to the author's interpretation. It is not clearly demarcated that these are imaginative illustrations and other pictures are authentic (though to be fair the book does have extensive picture credits).
Otherwise, the problems with rigor are derived from the book's great strength, which is how engaging it is. In the author's attempt to encourage readers to use the relief feature in the back (which admittedly is probably the best way to encourage students to master the heiroglyphs in the book) she gives suggestions on how the child can use the symbols to write notes, signs for your bedroom, etc. These suggestions sometimes are so arbitrary that they may cause serious misunderstandings by students.
In particular, the author shows how one can use the symbols alphabetically to spell out words. Fortunately on the next page (page 44) is the Maya syllabary challenge. With a minimum of explanation is a table of Mayan syllabic signs. (The way this, or any syllabic writing system works, is that the symbols can be arranged as a two-dimensional grid. One dimension consists of the consonants of the language, and the other is the vowels. So the top left corner symbol might be "ba," the bottom left could be "bu," the top right might be "za," and the bottom right would be "zu," with all other possible combinations in between. Thus an alphabetic use of the symbols is incorrect.) I am very pleased the chart is there, but one huge problem I have (perhaps my biggest with the book) is that the author does not explain that when we write Mayan words in English we voice vowels in the Spanish fashion. So a, e, i , o, u would be pronounced ah, ey, ee, oh, oo, not (as in English) ey, ee, aye, oh, oo. In other words, an English speaking student would pronounce almost all of these sounds incorrectly.
Aside from this, the book does a fair job of the technical aspects, though many times I would have prefered they be mentioned sooner. The book mentions the base twenty system of numbers (one fun feature of the book is that page numbers are in Hindu-Arabic (like most books) and in Mayan), and the sounds in Mayan not in English (a student. All in all not a perfect book, but a very engaging and broad introduction to the world of the Mayans, their heiroglyphs, and their decipherment.
This would be an interesting book for the classroom library (I would certainly buy this from a thrift store!) though the scope may be a bit broad for use in all but the most focused units. Even though this book is in no way exhaustive, and would not be sufficient to ensure real comprehension for any reader, adult or adolescent, it is a very interesting and engaging summary that would be a good starting point for student or teacher. ( )

Great book! This book discusses the ancient language of the Maya and looks at the hieroglyphics that were used to communicate. In sequential order it follows numerous archeologists on their attempts to decipher the language and gives interesting facts about Mayan culture. Throughout the book, there are sidebars with activities for students and pictures of artifacts. There is a mixture of illustrations, paintings, and photographs that help tell the story. While there is no table of contents, the back of the book has a detailed index, a glossary, and a bibliography. Teachers can have students create an art project by creating their own rub like the ones in the back of the book. They can also create their own hieroglyphics or study the different artifacts that are presented throughout the book. History teachers can have their students create a timeline of the different archeologist listed in the book. They can also trace the route of Stevens and Catherwood and learn about each individual place that they stopped. They can also research about Mayan customs. Math teachers can have their students create math problems using the hieroglyphic symbols. Students can also create a calendar round like the one mentioned in the book. They can also go to the website suggested on page 21 to print out their long count birthday. Students can also practice their cooking skills by making kakaw, a foamy chocolate drink. There is even a suggestion on page 39 of how to host a Maya party. English teachers can have students create a dictionary for all of the Mayan words that are used throughout the book. They can even create sentences for the words that are listed in the glossary in the back. Students can also practice their research skills by finding information on the different archeologist or by searching for more Mayan myths like the Popol Vuh. This is a very informative book that is filled with useful information. It would be a great addition to any classroom, especially for the activities listed in the back of the book. ( )