An entertaining introduction to ancient Rome with kid-friendly humor that may make those convinced that history is boring...
Published by Time Corp in the year 2163, this guidebook contains all the vital information needed for the intrepid traveler wishing to go back 2,100 years and partake of gladiatorial matches, Roman legions battling barbarian hordes, and a fight to the death between two captive armies at the Circus Maximus.
Depending on which Time Corp package is chosen, one can watch Cicero’s head get chopped off and displayed in the Forum or enjoy a weekend retreat in Pompeii before seeing it incinerated by a volcano. Accommodations are rated on availability of such amenities as horse parking and bales of hay for donkeys. Crassus, Hannibal, and Spartacus are recommended as interesting lunch companions. The best vantage points for witnessing Julius Caesar’s assassination are cited. There is practical advice on how to avoid being poisoned, beheaded, or torn apart by an angry mob. Factual information embedded in the jokey fictional narrative, often in sidebars, offers some interesting insights into the culture, economics, fashion, history, law, and politics of ancient Rome, but most of the information imparted tends toward the sensational. Among the historical figures introduced are Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, Mark Antony, and Pompey. Amplifying the conceit are ratings pages for the various attractions and accommodations; the Vesuvius Inn does not accept food for barter but does accept plunder, while reviewers of the Coliseum complain of insufficient violence.
An entertaining introduction to ancient Rome with kid-friendly humor that may make those convinced that history is boring reconsider. (bibliography) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Jan. 30, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-451-47960-0
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 29, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
After surveying “competing claims” for the first Thanksgiving from 1541 on, in Texas, Florida, Maine, Virginia and Massachusetts, Colman decides in favor of the 1621 event with the English colonists and Wampanoag as the first “because the 1621 event was more like the Thanksgiving that we celebrate today.” She demonstrates, however, that the “Pilgrim and Indian” story is really not the antecedent of Thanksgiving as we celebrate it today. Rather, two very old traditions—harvest festivals and days of thanksgiving for special events—were the origin, and this interesting volume traces how the custom of proclaiming a general day of thanksgiving took hold. Yet, since many Thanksgiving celebrations in towns and schools are still rooted in the “Pilgrim and Indian” story, which the author calls “true and important,” but which many Native Americans find objectionable, a more in-depth discussion of it is warranted here. The solid bibliography does include some fine resources, such as 1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving (2001) by Catherine O’Neill Grace and Margaret M. Bruchac. (author’s note, chronology, index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-8050-8229-6
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Fans of Terry Deary and Martin Brown’s Horrible Histories and their ilk are unlikely to consider this latest imitation more than an also-ran. Oliver surveys British history from the Isles’ Ice Age formation to the not-exactly-hot-off-the-presses 2005 news that London will host the 2012 Olympics. Though accurate enough in his broad picture, the author’s debatable facts (“…the Romans introduced really useful things such as toilets and even vegetables to the people of Britain”) and awkwardly written generalizations (“The Celtic kings consulted religious advisors to help them rule, known as druids”) drag the bland text down even further. Pinder's pen-and-ink illustrations attempt snark but too often fall flat: “That girl was always getting in my way,” remarks Bloody Mary as Lady Jane Grey’s newly severed head bounces by. This catalog of major British kings, queens, wars, pivotal events and cultural milestones is unlikely to entertain—much less resonate with—American audiences. (index, royal timeline) (Nonfiction. 8-11)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-906082-72-7
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Buster/Trafalgar
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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