Title of the work
Country of the First Edition
Country/countries of popularity
Original Language
First Edition Date
First Edition Details
Leonie Pratt, Roman Things to Make and Do, "Usborne Activities". Usborne Publishing, 2012, 34 pp.
ISBN
Genre
Activity book*
Target Audience
Children (5–10 years)
Cover
We are still trying to obtain permission for posting the original cover.
Author of the Entry:
Ayelet Peer, Bar-Ilan University, ayelet.peer@gmail.com
Peer-reviewer of the Entry:
Lisa Maurice, Bar-Ilan University, lisa.maurice@biu.ac.il
Daniel A. Nkemleke, University of Yaoundé 1, nkemlekedan@yahoo.com
Vicky Arrowsmith (Illustrator)
Vicky Arrowsmith is an illustrator and designer for various activity books for children by Usborne.
Bio prepared by Ayelet Peer, Bar-Ilan University, ayelet.peer@gmail.com
Leonie Pratt (Author)
Leonie Pratt is the author of various activity books by Usborne, such as: Big Book of Science Things to Make and Do, Mermaid Things to Make and Do, China and more.
Bio prepared by Ayelet Peer, Bar-Ilan University, ayelet.peer@gmail.com
Summary
This is an activity book which offers 18 Roman-themed activities for children: standing soldier paperchain, racing chariot painting, Roman sword, soldier’s shield, city collage, gladiator fight, senate picture, scroll, sticker pages, emperor’s wreath, Pop-up Roman god card (Neptune, Diana and Jupiter) coins and money bags, printed mosaics, catapult, cuffs and bangles, Roman feast picture, actor’s masks, how to wear a toga. There are short information bubbles for each activity.
Analysis
This activity book offers a diverse glance at the ancient Romans. The activities are not focused only on the military aspect of Roman life, but also on entertainment, culture and everyday life. Even Roman numbers are explained. Hence they provide a broader look and understanding of ancient Rome. The short information blurbs on each activity provide the necessary information for understanding it. For example, in the “senate picture” activity, the note explains what the senate was and how many senators sat in it. On the Roman gods’ activity, it is explained that Romans believed in many different gods and there is a short explanation for Neptune Diana and Jupiter. Probably for creativity’s sake, Neptune has a fish tail.
This is an example of a fun and creative pedagogical book which can accompany school classes on the subject of ancient Rome or function as an initial introduction to ancient Roman culture.
