Carolyn said it was a little scary. I think it was a big topic for early readers, personally. Not that history should be hidden, just... maybe a bit much?

I read this book a long time ago. The date finished is just a vague guess. The book gets five stars because I read it several times, and the story really stuck with me. Great for elementary school ages.

A great introduction to Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius for elementary kids.

Good book. Puts you as a person living there that day.

Quite well-done for one of these leveled readers. Good into. into Pompeii.

Will, Nick

Excellent short book for kids on Pompeii and the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. Very good illustrations by Michael Eagle, who also illustrated The Trojan Horse, a childhood favorite from the same Step into Reading series.

The first chapter offers a kid-friendly look at daily life in a Roman city, with attention given to home life, religion—including the often-overlooked household shrine—slaves, and typical activity in a town market. Throughout, the author and illustrator—by keeping Vesuvius, “a sleeping giant,” lurking in the background of the pictures and by repeating the refrain “No one knew that something terrible was going to happen”—build a powerful sense of foreboding.

The chapter dealing with the eruption itself is vivid but not too graphic or—hopefully—disturbing. We see characters in varying states of panic with some escaping by sea (Pliny the Elder, unmentioned in the book, being partly responsible for evacuation operations) and many others left to their fates in the city. The stages of the eruption are well-described and illustrated, with the town suffering rains of pumice, ash, and finally the pyroclastic flow that wiped out human life down to the sea (including Pliny). Again—well done in a kid-friendly way, avoiding jargon and describing the power of the mountain in understandable terms.

The final chapter, in the spirit of The Trojan Horse’s chapter on Heinrich Schliemann, describes Pompeii after its destruction, gradually covered over by earth and only rediscovered with the birth of modern archaeology (inspired by the eyewitness account of Pliny the Younger, who does figure in the story) and a few accidental discoveries. The story bookends with scientists monitoring “the sleeping giant” Vesuvius.

A good, well-illustrated account that could introduce kids to Roman life, archaeology, geology and seismology all at the same time.

Highly recommended.

Great for young children. My kids love it.

This is a great book for bringing this historical event and lost city to life in a way young children can understand.

VOLCANO

This is a great book. Effective writing skills. Just love it

This is a wonderfully illustrated book about Pompeii. Students will enjoy this informational text and remain engaged throughout learning about this awful disaster. Great for third and fourth graders learning about natural disasters.