The Romans: Gods, Emperors, and Dormice
Dormeo the dormouse guides readers through the history of Rome, from its creation to its fall in 410 BCE. Each page receives a neoclassical border, with the page’s topic heading in the pediment, a descriptive paragraph in the frieze, and the body of the comic-strip narrative inside the erstwhile building. These busy cartoons range from minuscule to full-page and always invite close inspection. Crammed within, readers will find miniature charts, tiny maps, overhead diagrams of outdoor areas, lessons on daily life, and plenty of modern snark. It’s an unusual conceit pulled off quite well—by employing Dormeo as a humorous narrator, Williams is able to present atrocities imposed upon the lower classes of Roman people without overwhelming readers. Lots of information here; prepare for this book to be renewed at least once. Grades 3-6. --J. B. Petty