You Wouldn't Want To Be A Slave In Pompeii!

The Danger Zone

by John Malam, David Antram (Illustrator)

It is AD 79 and you are a trusted slave, looking after your master's young son in a quiet and pleasant Roman seaside town. But there's something unusual about the mountain that looms over that town, and your life is about to change forever! The humorous cartoon-style illustrations and the narrative approach encourage readers to get emotionally involved with the characters, aiding their understanding of what life would have been like being a slave in Pompeii. Informative captions, a timeline, map, a complete glossary and an index make this title an ideal introduction to the conventions of non-fiction texts for young readers.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Childrens, Ancient History, Historical

40 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2008

About the author

John Malam is a British historian, archaeologist, and author of numerous children's non-fiction books. He attended the University of Birmingham.

Reviews

[Set · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vesuvius rocked the Roman city of Pompeii and then gave them a light show. They used to worship Vulcan the Roman god of fire and that is where the name Volcano comes from.
Fun fact: In AD 59, there was a riot here when visitors from nearby Nuceria came to watch the games. They insulted the Pompeians, spat at them, and tossed seat cushions around. And when someone threw a stone at an official, the Pompeinas had had enough. The crowd got onto the sand of the arena and fought like gladiators! Fighting spilled into the streets, and many were killed. After that, all games were banned at Pompeii for ten years." The Nurcerians supposedly lost the riot.
As usual, a lot of fun these books are, always gives me a good laugh.

[PleaseJustLetMeRead · Rating 3 out of 5]

En fin blanding af fakta og fiktion, der også kan give anledning til videre leg med begreberne og forståelsen af samme, - der er masser af ting at arbejde videre med og gå i dybden med, og mange detaljer, der kan fange interessen for målgruppen. Afrundingen kunne dog have været mere smooth.

[Set · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love anything to do with the archeology of Pompeii and of ancient Greece and Rome. There is a lot of information about the beginning signs of eruption from Mount Vesuvius and the fateful day of August 25, AD 79 when the volcano erupted and decimated the Pompeian. 2,000 years later and we find the forgotten city but thanks to the genius of Giuseppe Fiorelli we are able to see the shape of the bodies because he poured plaster into the hollows in the ash where the bodies had been during the disaster.
The people of this time were ignorant of volcano eruptions and I think that it's so ironic that the Pompeian would pry and sacrifice to the Vulcan god (volcano) through fire without knowing that the volcano they built the city next to would erupt and turn ash swallow them in ash.
There is also information about ancient architecture like the Tesserae and frescos that decorated these lovely ancient Greek homes. They also put the information about gladiator graffiti on the walls which I had mentioned in their other book of "You wouldn't want to be a gladiator".
The Greek philosopher Plato is mentioned and although he is not my cup of tea, he makes a point about the importance of an education from a magister as much as a paedagogus, he also mentions Atlantis which has us fascinated till this day.
I learn so much from these I wouldn't want to be books. I learnt that Vesuvius is said to be the home of Bacchus because of the fine grape vines that grew in the area. The god Vulcan is the god of fire and it is where we get the world volcano. Also, there was a mosh pit fight in an amphitheater in Pompeii between the Pompeian and their neighbor the Nucerian people where many were killed in the riots and thus were castigated by banning the games for 10 years.
It's crazy to think that there are over one million people that still live near Mount Vesuvius and the most recent eruption was in 1944.

[Kaycee · Rating 1 out of 5]

My whole issue with this book is the glorification of slavery. They paint slavery as being an important and responsible job, and I find it rather appalling that they chose this particular route to take.

[Cynthia Varady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great historical and scientific information about the 79AD eruption of Mt. Vesuvious. I love that the perspective is second person, placing the reader in the place of a slave. It's a unique perspective that works well as an educational book.

[Laura The Book Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love all the "You Wouldn't Want to Be..." books

[Nolan Brendel · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was kind of funny and it also taught me about volcanoes.

[Cristine Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly a delightful way to explore history. Loved the illustrations!

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am in 100% agreement with the title of t his book!

[Henning Klank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great fun and educational. Great laughs.

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great series

I recently stumbled onto the You Wouldn't Want to... series and have found them to be a delightful and painless way to introduce young people to different historical concepts.

You Wouldn't Want to Live In Pompeii is a standout in a standout series of books. It teaches about the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 that destroyed Pompeii, but it also teaches about Roman culture. The readers will learn that the Romans used enslaved Greek men as teachers for their sons, that the Romans made sacrifices to their gods, foods they ate, types of art, the gladiatorial games and the re-discovery of Pompeii in the 1700s and, more importantly, the archaeological work of Guiseppe Fiorelli in the late 1800s.

This would be great for 3rd grade or higher. Even adults can have a good basic understanding of what happened at Pompeii with this little book.

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[Carole P. Roman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both fun and entertaining, this book takes dry and even scary episodes in the history of the planet, and reviews the many sides of the event with both humor and intelligence. This is the first book I've read, and while it has the potential to be frightening- the whole eruption of the volcano is dealt with honesty to the dangers, and highlights the survivors. ( Less scary) The illustrations are fun and there is a lot of facts packed into this little book. Each page in itself, could lead to hours of discussion. While it's a lot to digest, I think it will be a neat way to explore life during different times for fifth grade and up. I think many parents will learn a lot of information as well. I can't wait to buy more in the series.

[Ubalstecha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another in the great series about history for kids. This one covers what happened when Mount Vesuvius erupted, wiping out the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Told from the point of view of a family slave, readers see the different waves of the eruption, how it affected the town and how some people even managed to escape. Like all other works in this series, it focuses a lot on the gory bits for their gross-out factor.

[Sarai · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is geared to children, but I think there is plenty of good information to be had for teens and adults. I've read through a couple of others from the "You Wouldn't Want to..." books and this one was a bit on the light side comparatively, but still full of lots of good information and told in an interesting way.

[McKenna Banks · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a nonfiction book that reads a bit like a fiction. It is told from the perspective of a slave living in Pompeii at the time of the eruption. The book has a time line on each page, and it has fact bubbles as well. I liked the way this was written. It almost reads a bit like a graphic novel. I could use this book in a volcano unit.

[Abbycat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked how they made you one of the characters. That's all I will say about this one.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Characters on each page are saying short Latin phrases (with English translation) which I liked. Overall very good child's introduction to Pompeii.

[Kelly Carey · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are expecting lava, you will be disappointed. Pompeii received a lot of gray ash and poisonous gas.

[Cassie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Borrowed from the library for my 9-year-old to read prior to visiting Heculaneum. I thought it wasn't bad but he didn't enjoy it. Very light in details and jokey.

[Christine Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great series that boys would especially like.