Short story about the last day in Pompeii as the volcano blows. I like the ending and the colors used in the detailed illustrations are reminiscent of the color you can still see in the ruins today. Note at the back with history of Pompeii.

Wonderfully written, and very intricate drawings! Gave enough history mixed with storytelling. This is a good one to use in the classroom!

A perfect book for cross-curricular links for history, maths and English lessons. Enjoyed reading this to my year 4 class - the suspense had them glued to the story!

Fascinating book explaining to children the horrors of Pompeii, great story one of my year 3s favourites of the year.

Two children survive the destruction of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, buried beneath the ashes when nearby Mt. Vesuvius erupted, in this engaging work of picture-book historical fiction. An alert and active boy, Tranio was the son of an actor, and was out and about when the earth in his home city began to tremble. He immediately set out in search of his friend Livia, the baker's daughter, and when the sky turned dark and began to rain down ashes, the two fled to the harbor, where they found safety on a ship setting sail. Behind them was their home and their families, soon to disappear forever...

I am a great admirer of the work of author/artist Christina Balit, and have enjoyed many of her books, from the wonderful folkloric and mythological retellings she has illustrated for other authors, to her own n  Atlantis: The Legend of the Lost Cityn, which she both wrote and illustrated. I tracked down Escape from Pompeii - it had to be requested through interlibrary loan - because of this fondness for Balit's work, and I was not disappointed. The story is engaging - sure to please young adventure lovers, it also gives the basic outline of the historical story of the destruction of Pompeii, something explored in more detail in the author's afterword. The artwork is, as expected, simply gorgeous, with a rich, orange and yellow-dominated color palette, and Balit's trademark stylized figures. Recommended to picture-book readers who enjoy historical fiction and/or stories of survival, as well as to anyone looking for supplemental titles to be used in a teaching unit on Roman history and/or Pompeii. For myself, I will have to see if I can track down a non-fiction children's book about this topic, that could pair well with this fictional tale.

Good for a topic text driver. Nothing particularly interesting about the storyline. More a factual retelling. Nice pictures.

Read it for my topic Natural Disasters

This is a great historical fiction read with wonderful pictures. It is a good way for young readers to learn about a devastating historical event as the book is based on the latest research of the volcanic eruption in Pompeii.

Informative yet written in the style of a story. A great, engaging way to teach pupils about the past.

Personal Reaction: I liked reading this book and looking at the pictures. The disaster of Pompeii was approached well in this book.

"Escape from Pompeii" by Christina Balit is a story about the city of Pompeii and the day that Mount Vesuvius erupted. It has good vocabulary and depicts what life was like in Pompeii. It would be a great book to read aloud to students who are interested in Pompeii or interested in other cultures or historical events.

Great book. My class loved using it as a part of their topic.

The illustrations in this book are beautiful.