Montezuma and the Fall of the Aztecs

by Eric A. Kimmel, Daniel San Souci (Illustrator)

Traces the life of the last emperor to rule the Aztec empire in Central America before it was conquered by the Spaniards.

Genres: History, Picture Books, Nonfiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2000

About the author

Eric A. Kimmel is an American author of more than 150 children's books. His works include Caldecott Honor Book Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins (illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman), Sydney Taylor Book Award winners The Chanukkah Guest and Gershon's Monster, and Simon and the Bear: A Hanukkah Tale.
Kimmel was born in Brooklyn, New York and earned a bachelor's degree in English literature from Lafayette College in 1967, a master's degree from New York University, and a PhD in Education from the University of Illinois in 1973. He taught at Indiana University at South Bend, and at Portland State University, where he is Professor Emeritus of Education.
Kimmel lives with his wife, Doris, in Portland, Oregon.

Reviews

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

If this was the only book I read on this subject, I'd think it was great. But it's so interesting how many different ways you can tell a story--especially one with as many different viewpoints and opinions as this one. So much cultural literacy needed. And at what age can children understand a story this complex? This is not a book for young ones.

I read this alongside The Sad Night by Sally Schofer Mathews and my son's recounting from his Latino Studies class at college. They're all different stories! None of us were there. So what do you do? I guess you read as many accounts as you can and see where they agree. Might be a good unit for history and library skills to compare different books.

This book has beautiful illustrations and tries to give a balanced account. It refrains from pointing fingers at bad guys or good guys. So if you want a book that paints Cortes as the bad guy, this isn't it. It has a "For Further Reading" list in the back. That's helpful and puts it above Mathews' book, which cites no sources.

[Stephanie Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book retells the historic meeting between Cortes and Montezuma. Students will learn about how the Spanish came to South America. The book also states that there are two different sides to how Montezuma died which lets the child pick what to believe.

[Teri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect way to learn history--with a good story!