Ancient Rome

Gr 3-7-This volume in the hybrid series focuses on life in ancient Rome as seen through the eyes of a family of Africans brought to the city as slaves. Most of the book is made up of DK's usual highly informative, well-illustrated factual descriptions. The edges of each spread tell the fictional story of the family in graphic-novel style. The nonfiction is engrossing, pulling readers into aspects of everyday life, with great cutaways of a variety of buildings and events. The story of a family torn apart, brought back together, and saved at the last moment is fairly unrealistic and unsatisfying compared to the great facts in the book. Readers seeking a graphic novel will be disappointed by the small part this format plays in the book. While overall it is an interesting combination that should appeal to reluctant readers, this title lacks the depth that most students will need for research purposes.-Dawn Rutherford, Kings County Library System, Bellevue, WA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Handsomely designed and profusely illustrated with drawings, diagrams, color photographs, and plastic overlays, the histories are ideal for browsing as well as doing research for school reports. Each gives an overview of the history, culture, habits, and beliefs of an important world civilization. The overlays, a clever tool, give readers a glimpse into the architecture, home life, and other aspects of the culture. Glos., ind. From HORN BOOK 1990, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

This fiction/nonfiction hybrid features topical spreads on life in the early Roman Empire, loosely connected by a story, told in graphic novel-style panels running along the margins, of two young North African captives sold into slavery. The made-up part is too trite and sketchy to be more than a temporary distraction. Likewise the text, printed in several sizes and faces, shoehorned into every nook and cranny, occasionally marred by factual errors (no, Roman roads weren't built on wooden foundations) and written in a modern idiom throughout--"OK, so maybe I don't get along with Sabina that well." It's the finely detailed (if blood and dirt free) history paintings, adorned with frequent cutaways and abuzz with small, busy figures, that will provide the real draw. Still, there's more flash here than substance; steer learners, visual or otherwise, to the plethora of more systematic surveys already out there. (index, no resource lists) (Fiction/nonfiction. 10-12) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.