If your knowledge of Arabia is limited to repeats of Lawrence of Arabia on television, then prepare yourself for a feast. This beautifully illustrated book is a celebration of a colourful and fascinating land, from the archaeology of the earliest human life through to the ultra-modern oil kingdoms of today. There is more living in the desert than camels, and one day you might be thankful for the book’s tips on how to read animal droppings, to find out what has passed your way and how long ago.

Before the oil it was pearls and frankincense which made fortunes in Arabia, and although the pearls are no longer collected by divers with turtle shells clamped to their noses, they are still bought and sold using 18th-century Austrian coins.

The development of Islam is explained simply and clearly, and there is a good section on the workings of a mosque. The book brings across particularly well the often startling juxtaposition of old and new: the nomadic bedouin and the bright lights of Riyadh, or a souk, a traditional market, housed in a state-of-the-art building.

In short, this book should help to dispel utterly some of the caricatures that children are likely to encounter - and not just in the playground - and in that sense it could not have come at a better time.