Roman Fort by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom

Roman Fort by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom
Buy Roman Fort by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Children's Non-Fiction
Reviewer: Louise Jones
Summary: Based on a real Roman letter, this is the story of Lepidina's journey to visit her friend Claudia at the Roman fort and the various obstacles that they face on the way.
Buy? Maybe	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 40	Date: January 2014
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-1847806253
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Fly on the Wall is a new series of history books by award-winning duo Manning and Granström, which aim to bring history to life for young readers. Roman Fort follows the adventures of Centurion Vespian as he escorts the lady Lepidina and her son to the safety of the Roman fort to celebrate her best friend's birthday. Along the way, the story touches on various aspects of Roman life, including clothing, family life, buildings and religion.

The illustrator has clearly had a lot of fun with this book. As well as the illustrations depicting each scene, the book also contains some 'real life' stains, including poo splashes, rock, leaves and cosmetics. I like the lipstick marks on the 'dressing up' page, where it looks as if Claudia has actually blotted her lips on the book. Fans of Horrible Histories will revel in the gross depictions of the Roman baths and public toilets, complete with floating poo.

The authors have clearly gone to great lengths to ensure historical accuracy and the book was actually researched on location at Hadrian's wall. The story of Lepidina travelling to Claudia's party is based on a 2000 year old letter, dug up in the ruins of Vindolanda, a Roman fort in Northumberland.

The book is engaging and there is a lot to see in each scene. It also has more detailed text at the bottom of each page, as well as a glossary to define the more unusual words encountered. I also liked the fact that the book was open-ended, which could lead to some interesting conversations about what the reader thinks may have happened next.

The book is a great reference item for those studying this period at primary school and I thank the publishers for my review copy.

If you can't get enough of the Romans, try Tony Robinson's Weird World of Wonders: Romans by Tony Robinson

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You can read more book reviews or buy Roman Fort by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Roman Fort by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom at Amazon.com.

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