THE BEST BOOK OF ANCIENT ROME

Murrell packs an awful lot in this 30-page survey of the City of the Seven Hills (pages 31 and 32 contain a brief glossary and index). Food and finery, friends and foes, slaves and scribes, patricians and plebeians are just some of the many subjects introduced in two- to five-sentence bites. A team of illustrators has combined color-coded maps with bird’s-eye-views of the city, its homes and public buildings, and close-up, action-packed paintings of Romans at work, at play, in conflict, and in combat (all clearly captioned or labeled) to create a lively little page-turner that will see lots of service when the elementary-school set is studying this perennial favorite. (Picture book/nonfiction. 6-10)