The Roman News [Paperback]

Andrew Langley (Author), Philip De Souza (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 4, 1999 | Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: History News

At home or at school, these innovative titles make history come alive!

Covering ancient Rome in the form of a daily newspaper written at the time, this innovative and acclaimed book presents historical nonfiction in a unique, kid-friendly format. Affordable and accessible as your morning newspaper, THE ROMAN NEWS gives young readers the unforgettable sense of actually being citizens of an ancient nation.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5 Up. Browsable reads to whet the appetite. The "editors" (authors) of these two volumes have hit upon a unifying theme to chronicle the accomplishments of the ancients?a newspaper style. The Roman News and The Greek News are not exactly major city dailies; their format is more suggestive of a news magazine or at least a Sunday section highlighting fashion, sports, trade, food, and the military. Each page presents readable articles complete with headlines, boldface, column breaks, illustrations, and, often classifieds: instruments for sale; racing chariots built to order; reusable wax tablets. The front page (book cover) suggests a scope of approximately 1200 years, and the rise and fall of each empire is explained. A publisher's disclaimer also cautions that the ancients did not have newspapers (of course, they didn't even have paper!), but if they had, "they would have been reading...." Similar comments dart in and out of the news stories so that the entire tone is more human interest than ready reference. Such editorializing, however, only slightly distracts from the facts, which are accurate. Significant dates and events are all newsworthy. "Olympic Games Spoiled," "Caesar Stabbed," and "Hannibal Invades" are typical stories. The slightly oversized pages with decorative borders, sidebars, ads, and cartoons create an interesting layout. Many teachers would probably rejoice with the delivery of The Greek or Roman News as a project for a social-studies or whole-language unit. Kids can adopt this highly readable, albeit slightly sensationalized journalistic style. All in all, serviceable reporting.?Harriett Fargnoli, Great Neck Library, NY
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Read all about it! Now The Roman News presents life in ancient Rome in a the form of a daily newspaper written at the time. Featuring news stories about key events of the period, fascinating articles on daily life, letters to the editor, and even advertisement, this innovative book presents historical nonfiction in a unique child-friendly format. Full color. (Ages 10 and up). -- Synopsis --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick (August 4, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763603414
• ISBN-13: 978-0763603410
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.1 x 11.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,749,505 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Wanted to like it more than I did, April 20, 2000

By 

P. Cornelius "pcornelius" (Mountain View, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Roman News (Paperback)

This thin book is certainly very attractive with its many graphics and easygoing style and probably in the end does stimulate interest for younger readers to try to find out more. It would have been nice however if some controversial conclusions about Roman history were not presented as fact. For example, it is not universally agreed that Romulus was an historical person or that 753 BC is the actual date of the founding of the city. While I fully realize that the conceit of the book is that it is supposed to be a view of the world as the Romans themselves saw it, that does not excuse giving wrong information. Anyway, the Romans certainly did not use the term BC which is freely used here. And these are not the only cases. It would have been nice if the Colosseum were also given its proper name for example, the Flavian Amphitheater. It is surprising to see Diocletian criticized for dividing the empire as this is not universally considered harmful by historians. And so on. I'm not entirely sure I agree with the ordering of the book either. Initially it goes in chronological order and then this is totally abandoned as one skips ahead to Constantine, then back to Vespasian, forward to Hadrian, etc. Overall, the book is worth buying, but an annotated guide to go with it would be quite helpful.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Roman Inquirer, June 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Roman News (Paperback)

This book imitates the typical newspaper format. An index indicates the various events that were pivotal for the development of Roman culture and government.

The events portion is set up chronologically, but the other sections cover societal topics such as sports, political life, women's pages, food pages.

The graphics are colorful and include illustrations, charts, and maps in imitation of modern newspapers and magazines.

It was interesting to us and it is our belief that the similarity to modern print media will intrigue students.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Roman News!, June 29, 2008

By 

Lynn Ellingwood "The ESOL Teacher" (Webster, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Roman News (Paperback)

I liked this book and think kids will have fun with it. It contains very good information, much of it I didn't know and tells it in a fun way. It makes Roman History come alive and not be so distant.