Deem, James M. Faces From the Past.

Deem, James M.  Faces From the Past.      Houghton Mifflin  2012  154p  ISBN 978-0-547-37024-8    ms/hs     Hardback    E-BN  Nonfiction 

James M. Deems has written an informative and easy-to-read book about a highly detailed science. He explains how artists have used facial reconstruction to bring skeletons to life.  Anthropologists and archeologists then work together to fill in the details concerning physical and cultural factors the individual had to deal with in life.

The book is divided into chapters, each focusing on a specific theme or individual skeletons.  The chapters “Making Faces From the Past” and “Pearl From Colonial New York” had the most impact on me.  In the first, readers gained insight into how the science of forensic reconstruction enables them to see how skeletons would have appeared.  Forensice reconstruction is a practice that goes back to around 7000 B.C.  In 1895, an artist created a bust of Bach’s skeleton to prove that it actually belonged to Bach.  The second chapter tells the story of Pearl, a women who lived in 1742 near Albany.

The flow and balance of the text and full-color visuals are integrated to present a very stimulating book for both young and older readers.  The use of different colored backgrounds to enhance a side topic or a more in-depth topic is visually appealing.  This is a very well written book that will appeal to many young readers.  It is recommended as a basic book for any middle- or high-school library.  It would be an excellent selection for a basic books list for school libraries.   

Summary: This book introduces the reader to a ten-thousand-year span of faces, including those of a colonial woman in New York, a Mexican soldier, and a buffalo soldier.  The reader will gain insight into the science of facial reconstruction.

Facial reconstruction                                             --Linda McNeil