Rome : Everything you ever wanted to know

by Lonely Planet

Lonely Planet Not For Parents Rome by Lamprell, Klay. Published by Lonely Planet,2011, Paperback

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Italy, Childrens, History, Geography

96 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2011

About the author

OUR STORY
A beat-up old car, a few dollars in the pocket and a sense of adventure. In 1972 that’s all Tony and Maureen Wheeler needed for the trip of a lifetime – across Europe and Asia overland to Australia. It took several months, and at the end – broke but inspired – they sat at their kitchen table writing and stapling together their first travel guide, Across Asia on the Cheap. Within a week they’d sold 1500 copies and Lonely Planet was born. One hundred million guidebooks later, Lonely Planet is the world’s leading travel guide publisher with content to almost every destination on the planet.

Reviews

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, quirky guide book for kids all about the stuff they would be most interested in—Why are there so many cats? How did Romans take baths? Where would you take someone if you thought they were lying? What do they do with the money collected at the Trevi fountain? Very cool. Even if you’re not traveling to Rome anytime soon. A great, inclusive overview of the city, just for kids.

[Jason Golomb · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Dad...this is AWESOME" yelled my 11-year-old son from the back seat after taking his first look at at this new Lonely Planet guidebook. The book has almost 100 color pages full of photos, drawings and graphics that will catch and hold the interest of even the most apathetic teen.

I have two boys, 8 and 11, and both were immediately drawn into this guide book. After they read the guide, I asked them what they thought. Here are some of the highlights...

11-year-old:
"It was really interesting because they do whole double page spreads on each topic. Like Roman fashion (past and present), Rome's architectural features, even how Rome handles its trash problems."

"The information in the book is made for kids. Like when you go to Rome you could point out information to your parents."

8-year-old:
He really liked the pages on obelisks which show pictures and includes facts on the many columnar structures across the city.

He loved the two page spread on gladiators which includes bold graphics of the weapons.

The book has "unique roman facts; the pictures helped a lot so I know what they're talking about."

From a parents' perspective, this guide book is simply the perfect pre-trip prep and companion. The picture and graphic-heavy pages are a natural draw for kids, and the text is simple and easy to read without being patronizing.

Rome can be an overwhelming experience for adults let alone children. This guide provides strong context for experiences across the city. It'll make the city experience feel familiar and recognizable, and will give kids "ownership" over what they see and what they learn. I can't recommend this guidebook more strongly.

The only downside, which was spotted by my 11-year-old, is that there are no maps. But those are easy enough to find elsewhere to enhance the guidebook's reading experience.

This book was provided through the Amazon Vine program.

[Sina & Ilona Glimmerfee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ich liebe die Buchreihe 'Für Eltern verboten' und habe auch schon von vielen anderen gehört wie gut diese Bücher sind.

Bebildert sind hier interessante Fakten zusammengetragen, die nicht nur Kinder faszinieren. Es ist nicht das Übliche und so wird auch immer etwas für die Eltern oder allgemein Erwachsene drin stehen, was man noch nicht wusste. Auch wenn Eltern ja eigentlich die Finger von dem Buch lassen sollten ;)

Die vielen Fakten über Rom, erschaffen ein Bild zwischen Antike und Moderne. Eine Reise dorthin wird um einiges interessanten, weil es wesentlich mehr zu entdecken und zu beobachten gibt. Auch der Vatikan ist in dieses Buch eingeschlossen.

Die Fakten sind einfach und jugendlich geschrieben, was zum blättern und lesen inspiriert.

Ich liebe die Reihe und kann sie jedem empfehlen.

[Pauline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Die Serie ist super, aber dies ist nicht das interessanteste Buch davon.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is exactly what the title says it is. Each topic has a website for further information. This book would work well to start a unit on Rome for middle-schoolers. Each student could choose a topic for a report.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this series

[Kaitlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to understand and is a great introduction to the culture, places, and people of Rome for kids... a bit vague on some details though

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting like the rest of the series but this one concentrates so much on the past - way past. I can see how the past impacts so much of Rome today but would have liked more of the modern city.

[Clare · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tends to trivialise history and culture, and though much of the content is technically harmless other than its trivial tone, some is not really helpful for young readers, drawing attention to aspects of culture they don't really need to dwell on. For example, the section on "Religious Habits" refers to Pope Pius V as "Father Fashionista" because he changed the Pope's robes, the section on Roman Baths shows how ancient Romans went to the toilet in public and what they used, and the cartoon of three men in the baths shows someone approaching someone else under water, the Cappucin crypt is shown with the skulls and bones of thousands of Cappucins lining the walls in a way that sensationalises it out of context, leaving rubbish around is described as a 'Roman custom' from ancient times... Kids may find it all fascinating, but not sure that it's helpful or just makes them focus on unimportant, sensationalised things rather than real history and culture.

[Eva Seyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Colourful and energetic. I found the layout a little confusing because the subject for each page wasn't clearly defined (that is, put at the top left of the page!) Sometimes I had to hunt around the pages to find out what the topic was, and that was a little annoying.

Still, I enjoyed all the fast facts about Rome: historical and current-day tidbits.

[Leland · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun little glimpse at the city of Rome both ancient and modern. It's aimed at younger kids, so your 10 year old would probably enjoy it. Sure it over-simplifies, and doesn't give you any depth about anything. It is, however, colorful and lively.

And now I want to try fried artichokes...hopefully I can find that a little closer to Seattle than Rome.

[Atlantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book for my kids when we were planning our trip to Italy. I thought it was a fun way to introduce them to Rome and show them that history and culture can be FUN!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

My least favorite in the series due to personal city preference. Still very worthwhile if you're headed to Rome and don't have time for a thicker book, and want some unique sightseeing ideas.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guia legal para crianças/pré-adolescentes de Roma, a cidade mais f* do mundo.