Two of the more bizarre myths about the past are that there was no sense of childhood and that people did not love their children. This book, which grew out of a conference on childhood in the classical world and Late Antiquity held at Dartmouth College, helps to refute these ideas. Cohen (art history, Dartmouth College) and Rutter (classics, Dartmouth College) have chosen articles that use both art and the work of classical and Christian authors to demonstrate various aspects of childhood. Topics cover education, family life, transition to adulthood, and differences in attitude to boys and girls. Several articles discuss memorials and commemorations of children who have died or memorials in which children are depicted. This is a fine collection on a subject that is only beginning to be seriously studied. Distributed in North America by the David Brown Book Co. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)