Title of the work
Country of the First Edition
Country/countries of popularity
Original Language
First Edition Date
First Edition Details
Barbara Kramer, Cleopatra. Washington: National Geographic Society, 2015, 48 pp.
ISBN
Genre
Biographies
Illustrated works
Instructional and educational works
Target Audience
Children ( 6–9 years)
Cover
We are still trying to obtain permission for posting the original cover.
Author of the Entry:
Agnieszka Maciejewska, University of Warsaw, agnieszka.maciejewska@student.uw.edu.pl
Peer-reviewer of the Entry:
Elżbieta Olechowska, University of Warsaw, elzbieta.olechowska@gmail.com
Susan Deacy, University of Roehampton, s.deacy@roehampton.ac.uk
Barbara Kramer
, b. 1948
(Author)
Barbara Kramer was born on May 18, 1948. She graduated from Mount Mercy University (New York City) and worked as an editor and proof-reader; she writes non-fiction for children including biographies “about both historical subjects and people in the news” (see here, accessed: June 28, 2018). From 1998 to 2013, she worked as instructor at the Institute of Children's Literature in West Redding, CT.
Sources:
Official website and blog (accessed: June 28, 2018).
Profile at the scholastic.com (accessed: June 28, 2018).
Bio prepared by Agnieszka Maciejewska, University of Warsaw, agnieszka.maciejewska@student.uw.edu.pl
Summary
The book is dedicated to children who reached level 3, meaning that they are capable of reading on their own and they can start to expand their vocabulary. The opening chapters introduce Cleopatra and explain where her ancestors came from and what her life in Alexandria looked like. The next chapters move on to Cleopatra's reign and her love for Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius. The extensive biography of Cleopatra ends with chapters containing information about the Battle of Actium and the events that occurred before her death. The last chapter deals with the death of the Pharoah and her last moments, and with what happened later to Alexandria, to Cleopatra's children, to Egypt, and to Rome. The book also contains many interesting facts about the queen's life and ancient culture. Various pieces of information are presented in unusual places, such as cartouches and papyrus scrolls, which draws the children's attention. In addition, the book includes a quiz that tests knowledge and reading comprehension, as well as a list of words to fix what the child has learned during the reading. The book also contains many photographs of engravings, paintings, and sculptures depicting Cleopatra and her surroundings created in different periods which makes the book even more attractive to a young reader.
Analysis
The book Cleopatra has two goals – to familiarize the reader with Cleopatra’s figure and to improve the reader’s vocabulary and reading skills. These two objectives work together efficiently to ensure that a young reader practices their reading skills and also learns new vocabulary while studying the book with interest and joy. The variety of interesting facts, images, and photos of frescoes from different periods make the learning process even more interesting. The numerous techniques applied in the book help the child to absorb the basic information about Cleopatra, to learn how to read, to do the quizzes and to have fun with wacky titles (for example 7 Cool Facts About Cleopatra).
