Who Were the Romans?

Usborne Starting Point History

by Phil Roxbee Cox

What were gladiators? Were people really thrown to the lions? What did Romans learn at school? Find out in this entertaining look at the Romans. Packed full of fun, facts and illustrations showing everyday life in ancient Rome, this newly updated Internet-linked book has all the answers.

Genres: History, Picture Books, Roman, Childrens, Textbooks, Ancient History, Nonfiction

Paperback

Published January 1, 2015

Reviews

[Zoltan Abbott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is part of the ‘Usborne Starting Point History’ series and is an absolute must for anyone studying the Romans – and is very useful to top up teacher knowledge too!
The book is focused around lots of questions that could have been put together by a class working out what they would like to learn as a topic progresses. It has some really interesting takes on what went on and has a simple style that is very accessible. There isn’t much sensationalism of the ‘Horrible Histories’ found here, but it does offer a very up to date take on the issue, with Internet links included to aid with further research.
Questions include: Did Roman Children go to school? What did Roman’s do for fun? And my favourite, Did the Romans believe in God? With the lovely subheading of ‘What did the Gods do all day?’
Year 3 good readers will be able to access this with no trouble, and others in earlier years will be fine with assistance. Years 4 5 and 6 will also find it of interest.
The book could easily form the basis for a history six week scheme of work too.

[Ratih Cahaya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aku baca edisi Bahasa Indonesia yg diterbitkan Penerbit Nuansa. Judulnya Siapakah Bangsa Romawi.

Buku untuk anak yg bisa dinikmati semua kalangan. Penjelasannya ringkas, dilengkapi ilustrasi yg menarik. Lumayan untuk menambah wawasan.

[Heri · Rating 3 out of 5]

baru mulai baca

penjelasan buku ini tentang bangsa Romawi cukup baik, sederhana, mudah dipahami dan dibagi menurut topik-topik kecil disertai ilustrasi yang membantu menjelaskan keterangan tulisan dan suasana kehidupan orang Romawi.

tiap tema dijelaskan dalam 2 halaman, ada juga yang 4 halaman tapi tidak banyak. masing-masing menjelaskan kehidupan orang romawi, mulai dari pendidikan, hiburan, makanan, kehidupan prajurit, cara bersosialisasi, membuat bangunan, hingga nama dewa dewi yang mereka sembah.

kalimat penjelasan cukup sederhana dan mudah dipahami, disertai gambar sebagai pelengkap, membuat pembaca bisa menikmati dan mengerti masa hidup orang romawi sesuai gambaran yang ditampilkan.

buku ini cocok untuk anak-anak yang sudah belajar di sekolah dasar dan lancar membaca hingga orang dewasa yang ingin tahu tentang romawi secara santai dan ringan. menambah pengetahuan secara singkat dan cocok untuk pemula.

[Hava · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've always enjoyed learning about the Roman civilization, so when I saw this book at the library, I picked it up to read for myself - I like learning in a fun, easy, non-intensive way. However, this book had a lot of flaws which detracted from the fact that it could have been a very interesting book on the topic. But alas, it was not to be.

First, every other page or so would have the following across the top:

"Internet link: for a link to a Web site where you can find out more about Romans and the Roman empire, go to www.usborne-quicklinks.com"

The first time I saw that, I thought, "Oh, how interesting. I wonder what's on the website." I then continued to read the book. When I saw that same exact phrase on the next page (this time saying "where you can find out what Romans wore") I thought, "Weird." So then I started to pay attention, and I counted 12 of these, "Go to our website and learn more about {blah}" notes. Bear in mind that there were only 30 pages in the book. Was this a book, or a really large advertisement for their website?

Perhaps other people wouldn't be bothered by this, but I was. If they wanted us to go to their website to learn more, it would have been fine for them to have a full page on what is on their website, and the address for it (which, incidentally, they had just this very thing at the beginning of the book). But above and beyond that, it just wasn't needed.

Second, the illustrator had an insane desire to label everything in the pictures. And I do mean everything. It's hard to properly describe this complaint without being able to show you a sample page, but I'll do my best. On page 3, there is a drawing of two kids digging in the ground, with a paragraph above saying what it is that archaeologists do. Then, to label this picture, there is a label next to the boy's head, "Archaeologist," and then lower down on the page, a label next to the girl's head, "Another archaeologist."

Huh.

And another page, there were labels like, "A bored boy" and "This boy is writing a poem. By the look on his face, he probably thinks that it's pretty good." Unlike this book, which I do not think is good.

The book wasn't a complete waste - there were interesting tidbits in it that I hadn't heard before. I did learn a couple of things from it. But overall, it was cheesy and poorly done. I love books by DK Eyewitness Books, and I had expected something along those lines. Not even close.

[Imari Moraga]

I completed reading this book Who were Romans by Phil Roxbee Cox. Basiclly they were talking about what did Rome look like, who were the Romans, what education did they have, what clothes did they have and how did they live.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chock full of good info on the Romans. This style of book appeals to the young, they say. Nicola does seem to enjoy it and learn from it even though, to me, it's rather choppy and difficult to follow.

[Deanna Sutter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of good general history about the Romans. We especially liked learning about the Roman Gods. I hadn't realized they were just Greek gods renamed.

[Beth Huddleston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Each double page spread covered a different aspect of Roman life in a question-answer format. The facts were fairly interesting without too much depth.

[Nate · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this when I was unhauling my book shelf simple book that didn’t really interest me as not a child anymore but is good for children