Cleopatra

by Gary Jeffrey, Anita Ganeri

Queen of Egypt, companion of Julius Caesar, and wife of Mark Antony, Cleopatra lived one of history’s most fabled lives. Renowned for her great beauty and intelligence, Cleopatra was a strong ruler determined to restore the glory of Ptolemaic rule to Egypt by using her relationships with Caesar and Antony to achieve her goals. Fascinated readers will learn why the events of her life—including her tragic suicide—have inspired writers and artists for centuries.

Genres: Nonfiction, Graphic Novels, Comics, History, Biography

48 pages, Library Binding

Published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Sara Darr · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Cleopatra' is another historically based graphic novel. It is more informative than the previous graphic novels I have reviewed as it starts off with an overview Cleopatra, Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar. It then illustrates the story of the life of Cleopatra complete with a reference section, maps and photographs to give the reader a real feel of that particular period in history. At the end of the book it informs the reader of life after Cleopatra which is quite useful and provides recommendations of other books the reader may be interested in. Similarly with the others it would be useful in history, literacy, geography and art. It is also a support aid for those who may find reading and understanding a written story a challenge as this book is more visual. This series of graphic novels also includes: Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Elizabeth I, Hernan Cortes and Spartacus. This book would be suitable for

[Wilde Sky · Rating 2 out of 5]

A brief overview of the life and times of a famous Egyptian ruler.

Some parts were OK, but overall I found this book confusing.

Reading time around thirty minutes.

[Dreamergirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow!! I don't know if it's just me, but her whole personality shone true in this book! Again, this was a graphic and I wasn't expecting to see some of the history in it. I thought it was just going to be made fun for YA audiences and skip some of the real happenings (which I always find more interesting than the fictional anyways) but here there wasn't anything out of place or imaginary, it even showed some of the battles of Antony in detail! Knowing as much as I do about Cleopatra, what I liked here is that this made me know more about her to even greater extend. Why I took a star out of this book than was because I was hoping for better graphics (not to brag or anything but when I sat down to draw some of the pictures- I drew them with a pencil and a paper better than they showed them with a computer!). I loved that it showed some scenes with her father, Ptolemy XII Auletes though and I liked that there were so many characters for the first time and was surprised that I could keep up (that's what graphics are good for!). It showed everything beautifully and I can't forgive myself that I took out even one star out of this novel but what can I say, I have to be truthful or else all of you are going to come on me as a union and ban me from here because of bad recommendations :) It shows Cleopatra from when she was very young to her death and I can't believe in just how many pages it prints out practically her whole life... I would recommend...

Interest level: High
Reading level: Hard
Grade level: 6th-10th
Links: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGDyZH...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNMjhi...

[Duane · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you're interested in Cleopatra that this is a book for you. If you're wanting a nice resource book, look somewhere else. Done in a graphic novel style approach, it's meant more as a general overview of who she was and all the nasty things she did while she was alive. I'm not a fan of the period or the people in it so I guess I'm very bias, but even with that, I just didn't see people enjoying this book.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This graphic or cartoon history book rates a 5 for capturing elementary students interest in History. If all history books could be written in a graphic form, more students would enjoy history. As an adult reader who is an Egyptophile, I give it a 3 based on some inaccuracies and the watered down story.

[Gracie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was easy to understand, but it missed some history and was sometimes boring.