Customer Reviews

Pompeii: Lost and Found

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Frescoes by Bonnie Christensen accompany a lively history of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 70, which changed the world of one of the richest towns in the Roman Empire. Pope recreates life in early Pompeii pre-eruption and artist Christensen illustrates each scene with frescoes using the same colors and style as the ancient wall paintings unearthed at Pompeii: together they recreate a bygone era, using archaeological evidence as the foundation for discovery.

This is a nicely-illustrated (fresco painting style pictures) picture book depicting the history of the town of Pompeii and its destruction via volcanic eruption. The book is large size with pictures each page, medium amount of text, thus appealing and not overwhelming to early elementary students. I used it with a 2nd grader, who was easily able to read it independently. The content was realistic without being overly explicit to those kids who may be sensitive to content regarding death of people and animals. It does not gloss over the fact that many died, but does it considerately, I thought. The whole book is framed by describing the archeological discovery of the town, which helps the children understand it occurred far in the past, and it was real (not just a fictional storybook).

Mary Pope Osborne is the author responsible for the Magic Tree House series of tedious children's books. Just words on paper does not a children's book make. However...

In this book, she steps away from writing bland dialog and preaching lectures on wholesome New-Age living to create an enjoyable book. Bonnie Christensen's exceptional artwork is satisfying and delicious. This is a must-have. Don't turn up your nose just because the author's other work is uninteresting; give it a try. It's a nice surprise.

This is a good presentation of what happened in Pompeii when Vesuvius erupted. Nice large book -- great illustrations.

Great for it's age group. Wonderful details about the city before the disaster as well as what was found in modern times. Gives a nice sense of the people and the culture. Fun to read and fasinating to discuss.