What Was Pompeii? by Jim O'Connor

What was...?

by Jim O'Connor

The morning of August 24, AD 79, seemed like any other in the Roman city of Pompeii. So no one was prepared when the nearby volcano Mount Vesuvius suddenly erupted, spouting ash that buried the city and its inhabitants. The disaster left thousands dead, and Pompeii was no more than a memory for almost 1,700 years. In 1748, explorers rediscovered the port city with intact buildings and beautiful mosaics. This easy-to-read account is gripping and includes photos of the ruins.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Childrens, Historical, Italy, Juvenile, Chapter Books

Library Binding

First published March 13, 2014

Reviews

[Karly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another goodie from this series! This one had a lot photographs from the site too which added to the read.

[Readasaurus Rex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

This was an interesting read, although, I'm not sure how they have so much information about the city and how it functioned just by the ruins they found.

[Jaymie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these books. I found so much of this interesting. The way they made the plaster sculptures of the impressions left behind by the bodies (the pictures of these online are captivating and so sad), the plumbing they had in Pompeii, the descriptions of the way the city operated. The art they uncovered. So much neat history!

[Mayli Corona]

''What was Pompeii'' by Jim O'Connor is about a day when Pompeii was basically destroyed. In August 24,7 AD the people in the town of Pompeii went about their normal routines. But they weren't aware of this volcano called Mount Vesuvius. It had exploded like a balloon and Pompeii was full of ashes. About 2,000 people there died which was about the amount the people who lived there. This book was sad but also very interesting and a thumbs up. I recommend this book to people who like historical fiction and a little action!

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent overview of Pompeii. It restored what I thought I knew about Pompeii until I saw the movie about Pompeii. The movie led me to believe that the residents knew about the approaching eruption and ignored it. The book's stance, which is what I had always been thought, was that the eruption came as a bit of a surprise. There had been earthquake tremors before the eruption, but nothing that prepared the citizens of Pompeii.

The book also covered quite a bit about life as an ancient Roman citizen.

[Cathleen Bonville · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend for anyone looking for a quick and interesting read of Pompeii. Although it is considered children's non-fiction, as an adult I found it had just the right amount of cultural and historical information to be interesting. It kept me fascinated without ever sounding "textbook". The 16 pages of photos inside were a treat. I now have a few bits of info that I want to research further.

[Mia · Rating 3 out of 5]

What Was Pompeii? by Jim O'Conner is a book I wouldn't have picked up if my dad didn't recommend it to me. To be honest this book surprised me. In this book it talked about Pompeii before,during,and after the volcano eruption. I learned some really cool facts about roman and Pompeii. In the book, the author managed to get in a primary source. I recommend this book to 5th-6th grade students who want to learn about the past.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't know there were gladiators in Pompeii. Very surprised to see the author included a little-known detail about these games: when the public voted to SAVE the fallen gladiator they turned their thumbs DOWN. Hollywood would have you believe the opposite.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good book for people of all ages to learn about Mount Vesuvius and the destruction of Pompeii. The book includes excellent descriptions of Roman life in Pompeii, plus diagrams, maps, and photos! It also has a bibliography, including videos to watch. Great for home-schooled students!

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

[3.5]

This book was super cute!

Great cover art! Their faces are so expressive!

Good size book that quickly runs through all the topics about Pompeii.

[Martin Ewell · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was sad lots of people die in the volcano 🌋🔥but was interesting😜🤪🇨🇮

[Andrew T · Rating 4 out of 5]

In "What Was Pompeii?" you will learn about the people of the city of Pompeii. Also, you will learn about the volcano also known as Mount Vesuvius and its eruption. After the volcano erupted in 79 AD, a thick smoke filled the air and began falling towards the earth. This smoke was so hot when it hit the people in the city were encased in inside of a sell like coffin. After it was all said and done, around 2,000 people died from the eruption and most of the city was encased.

Overall I enjoyed the book and all of the facts it had to offer. I liked how the author included good details about the eruption and the time before the eruption took place. One thing I didn't like though is the vagueness about the number and facts after the disaster. I feel like it didn't give me enough information to feel comfortable with discussing the aftermath. But, if I were to recommend this to anyone, I would recommend it to a non-fiction lover that is interested in these types of topics.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is filled with more facts about Pompeii than I have read in a long time. It includes information on what life was like for those people who lived in the town. It shows the most recent discoveries of the site and how the site was discovered. It is a very good summary for the history of Pompeii.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Watch the vlog here: https://youtu.be/ktH3wYkIZA0

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aside from likely having heard of it before, I pretty much knew nothing of Pompeii prior to reading this book. And like the other one I recently read (What is the Panama Canal?), I loved it! I really like that these are quick reads, factual and they have pictures--illustrations and actual photographs. Excellent way to quickly learn about places, events, and people.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

On August 24th in the year 79 AD, what started out as just another day in the Roman port city of Pompeii ended with the eruption of nearby Mt. Vesuvius and the obliteration of the city and the people in it. Author Jim O'Connor in his book What Was Pompeii tells the story of how a thriving and vibrant city was buried in volcanic ash and was lost to history for almost 1,700 years. In fact several small cities in the surrounding are suffered the same fate and in some cases newer cities were built on top of them with no idea that previous cities existed beneath them. In 1748 Pompeii was rediscovered by explorers and excavations found many intact buildings and artifacts as well as human remains that had been preserved in fossilized form; these were mostly replaced with representative cast figures. A visitor today can walk the streets of Pompeii and see many of these shapes and artifacts. It is one of the best preserved of an ancient Roman city. This book was well written and loaded with facts and photos of Pompeii today.

[Joshua Gage · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this free for an honest review in a Goodreads Giveaway.

As far as a middle-reader non-fiction book goes, this is a really solid effort. The language and sentence structure was simple enough for a young reader, and complex words and terms were given pronunciation guides. It dealt with the brutalities of Roman life, such as gladiatorial events, in a way that wouldn't terrify young readers but was also honest.

My only complaint or critique would be that the first few chapters seem out of place. It starts with the destruction of Pompeii, then moves to the discovery and preservation, then moves to ancient per-destruction Pompeii. I thought a more narrative timeline would work better for young readers, but the chapter headings made things clear enough that I doubt many of them would be confused.

Overall, this was a very unique book.

[Yurika Tokoro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Penguin/ level ?
April 7th, 9th = 120 mins

1. Pompeii
2. Volcano
3. Eruption
4. Buried
5. Unearthed
6. Plasters
7. Tour spot

" He is caught, contorted, trying frantically to bite through the chain holding him."
This passage describes about a plaster cast of the dog. The dog was chained to a stake so he couldn't escape and unfortunately died by tons of ash and pumice. From this description, I can see the dog was struggling to escape somehow.

I've been reading some books from this series since last semester, and I still don't get enough of it! The more I read it, the more it makes me want to read! Also, I really think this book series helps us improve our vocabulary skills! I really enjoy it!

[Alissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, informative overview of Pompeii and what happened when Vesuvius erupted. It's fascinating that a town can just disappear from the memories of humankind. I loved that it included pictures of artifacts and things found.

This series along with the Who was? and Where Was? series are great for introducing kids to events, places, and people.

2019 Popsugar Reading challenge: #16 A book with a question in the title

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at the ruins of Pompeii when the huge volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius entombed the richly cultured city in ash. What Was Pompeii? gives us a glimpse into the everyday life, culture, people, and economy of this ancient city. Kids who are history buffs will love this short, concise book with tons and tons of facts. Includes a timeline of both Pompeii and the world at the time and a bibliography.

[Carl Vaca · Rating 3 out of 5]

"What Was Pompeii?' is about the history of the city of Pompeii. The most historic event is Mount Vesuvius erupting causing about 2,000 people to die. Nobody had their attention to Vesuvius. This book also talks about what people in Pompeii did for a living. There so many things to do, but there is a blood sport. The gladiators were in this blood sport. It is so dangerous and many of them died. I recommend this book to people who like history and people who want to learn about Pompeii.

[Rachel Cavender · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really good book. It is for younger kids but it tells true story about the town of Pompeii while giving other information about volcanoes and just random things are good for kids to know about. It's an interesting and fun book to read. I would use this as a read aloud because it would be good to use with a social studies unit and learn all about Pompeii.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not to be considered a replacement for a more classical, formal study of Pompeii, this children's nonfiction chapter book is chock full of fascinating history, cultural practices, biographies, illustrations, and realistic photos. I would recommend for a child looking to
move into a reading level beyond the Magic Tree House or other easy chapter books.

[elizabeth sawyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Reiveiw by nine year old I liked this book because it gave detail. This is also a Nonfiction. I gave this book four stars instead of five because some of the words were hard because they were in an ancient language. It had lots of facts but I would recommend this to third and fourth graders because of of the hard words.

[Athena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that the book gave a great load of info about Pompeii. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know about Pompeii or is studying it.

[Caleb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it

[Nathaniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

i liked it

[Elizabeth Senez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great information about Pompeii. It says a 7.1 reading level but I would put it at 3rd or 4th grade level.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This topic fascinates me and makes me so happy that we do not throw waste in the streets.

[North Landesman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adult thought this was excellent. Child did not.