Journal of International Social Studies 

http://www.iajiss.org 

 

 

 

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Volume 1 Number 2  48 Spring/Summer 2011 
 

Media Review 
Editor’s Message 

 

"The innovative cities of the coming age will develop a creative union of technology, arts and 

civics." 

 

    So wrote Sir Peter Hall in his 1000 page 

treatise on how particular cities in the past 

have been not just a backdrop for innovation 

and creativity, but, because of how they are 

organized, have facilitated the emergence of 

a dynamic community (Hall, 1988). Hall is 

an internationally known geographer whose 

studies of urban environments have shaped 

policy-making in the UK and other nations 

for generations.  

    In the first section of this column I offer a 

review of a single author whose highly 

acclaimed work is being used by teachers 

around the world, in part because of the 

universal themes she addresses, and in part 

because of the way her ideas and her 
cityscapes are presented: as wordless books. 

Ideally this review of the collected works of 

Australian author and artist, Jeannie Baker, 

will help readers think about the “creative 

union of technology, arts and civics” in their 

own contexts. 

    In the section on recently released media, 

NCSS-published author Myra Zarnowski 

(USA) offers an insightful review of 

Reading globally, K-8: Connecting students 

to the world through literature, by Barbara 

Lehman, Evelyn Freeman, and Patricia 

Scharer (2010). Its authors are key members 

of the International Board on Books for 

Young People (IBBY) and long-time 

advocates for using international children’s 

literature in classrooms. 

    Continuity, change, and opportunity are 

exciting concepts for social studies 

educators in this digital age. It was no 

accident that Internet developers redefined 

the term “forum” in order to describe an 

online meeting place. An online forum such 

as this one should provide individuals within 

a shared profession with a virtual place to 

talk and share ideas, much as the stone 

forum did in ancient Rome. Readers are 

strongly encouraged to participate through 

the journal website (iajiss.org), and to join in 

discussions with reviewers and other readers 

about the reviewed texts and questions they 

raise. 

    The Media Review Column offers readers 

a place to share resources they have 

discovered and find useful, or perplexing, in 

their efforts to be the most effective social 

studies educators they can be. Please contact 

the Media Review Editor if you have a 
resource that you would like to have 

reviewed, or a resource you would like to 

review in a future edition of JISS. 

  

Carolyn O’Mahony, Media Review Editor 

 

References 

 

Hall, P. (1998). Cities in civilization: 

         Culture, innovation and urban order. 

          London: Pantheon Books. 

Lehman, B., Freeman, E., & Scharer, P.  

          (2010). Reading globally, K-8:  

          Connecting students to the world 

           through literature. Thousand Oaks, 

           CA: Corwin.