Facchini re-creates a day in the life of the earliest humans, based on archaeological discoveries. Students of human evolution may appreciate the archival material, maps, diagrams, and illustrations, but they will be disappointed by a tedious introduction and a fictionalized account of daily life that includes forced dialogue and imposed emotion. Glos., ind. [Review covers these Early Human titles: A Day with Homo Erectus, A Day with Homo Habilis, A Day with Homo Sapiens, and A Day with Neanderthal Man.]

Gr 5-9 The introductions in both books give an overview of where and when fossilized remains have been found, and what they indicate about how the species lived and developed, both physically and culturally. Then, using a fictionalized representative, Facchini speculates about what an average day might have been like, incorporating dialogue and private thoughts along with activities such as hunting, preparing meat, making tools, telling stories, and generally surviving in the harsh surroundings. The writing seems clipped, a bit contrived, and decidedly modern, which is more distracting than informative. Photographs, drawings, and diagrams offer a visual expansion of the material, but the captions can be hard to decipher as the numbering is not always obvious. Without a time line, students will have trouble putting the facts into any kind of relevant context. No bibliography or notes are provided, thus making it difficult to determine the authority of the information. Helen Roney Sattler's Hominids: A Look Back at Our Ancestors (HarperCollins, 1988; o.p.) and Roy A. Gallant's Early Humans (Benchmark, 1999) are better choices. Jody Kopple, Shady Hill School, Cambridge, MA