Review of 'Lugalbanda: The boy who got caught up in a war' Kathy Henderson, Illustrations by Jane Ray. Walker Books (2006) RRP $16.95 (paperback)

Many young children will have heard of Iraq, but their understanding of the country and its cultures are likely to be tainted by the vivid pictures of violence present in the media every day. The Western world owes a huge debt to the Sumerian culture that evolved in Iraq 5000 years ago, which is a cornerstone of the country's culture that few outsiders now recognise. The Sumerians gave us law, literature, mathematics, science, our way of measuring time and writing. The 'Lugalbanda' poems are dated from 2400 BCE, which is 300 years earlier than the 'Epic of Gilgamesh', a text thought to be the oldest written story in the world. In presenting this story in a children's book, Kathy Henderson has attempted to remain as close as she can to the original translations of the poems. She wanted today's children to have an opportunity to hear the story that Sumerians shared with the world nearly 5000 years ago, and through it, learn a little more about Sumeria/Iraq.