You are in Ancient Rome

You don’t have to travel all the way to Italy to get a close-up view of Rome and all it’s splendor. This book takes a visual approach to the study of key periods in world history curriculum. It looks at the period of history through the eyes of a child investigating the aspects of the society that matter to them. The title does not just focus on childhood but looks at all aspects of daily life through the eyes of someone examining the evidence. The book uses enlarged photographs, labeled photos and unusual uses of images to give the books a visual edge. The focus is on photos as evidence rather than the reconstruction artwork that is commonly used, while delivering information that is curriculum relevant and at a level that can be understood by the target audience.

Reviewed with Ivan Minnis' You Are in Ancient China.

Gr. 3-6. These books in the You Are There! series offer students basic information about important world powers from the past. Ancient China describes the Han Dynasty (207 B.C.E.-220 C.E.), providing information about clothing and lifestyle, city and country life, food, children, literacy, art, technology, entertainment, political life, and religion. Ancient Rome covers the empire at the time of Augustus (27 B.C.E.-14 C.E.), explaining lifestyles and slavery, city and farm life, feasts, childhood, literature, art, road building and architecture, entertainment, emperors, and religion. Both books use double-page-spread chapters with large print and frequent, full-color illustrations. Specialized words appear in bold type, and the use of simple declarative sentences helps to keep the reading level low. This material is accessible to interested primary-grade students, but it will be most useful to middle-schoolers having trouble with grade-level social studies materials. Appended with a glossary, a bibliography, and Web links. Kay Weisman
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