The Roman Army The legendary soldiers who created an empire

Gr. 5-8. The arresting jacket art will draw casual readers as well as student researchers to this dynamic book from the author and illustrator of Olympia: Warrior Athletes of Ancient Greece (2001). Blacklock talks about who made up the army, how they were organized, the equipment they used, and their highly successful techniques of warfare. Particularly interesting is the discussion of the treatment of defeated people, captives, and individual soldiers. Although the reading level may be a little challenging for elementary-school students, the paragraphs of text on any given page are relatively short, the incentive for reading is strong, and the well-conceived interplay of text and illustrations will help with comprehension. Calling the art comic-book style suggests the approach and appeal of these impressive illustrations, but it conveys little of the artwork's dignity and originality. Some pages are drawn with straightforward simplicity, such as the double-page spread showing military figures displaying the garb worn by different types and ranks of soldiers. But many others use small, multicolored panels to show the army's activities and larger, overlapping panels to interpret more complex information or dramatize narrative scenes. The visually arresting art combines with the well-written text for an unusually clear and accessible offering. --Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2004 Booklist

Gr 4-7-The creators of Olympia: Warrior Athletes of Ancient Greece (Walker, 2001) have come up with a captivating work on the well-trained, brilliantly organized Roman army. Most spreads consist of several paragraphs of text, a number of illustrations, and informative captions. Blacklock's writing is clear and lively and the book, packed with dramatic cartoon illustrations, will captivate readers, especially those interested in military history. Every component of the army, from the general down to the camp followers, is explained, and military garb, equipment, housing, weaponry, camp plans, etc., are carefully drawn. One spread shows how the catapult and ballista worked while another draws the audience into the middle of a battle. Although this page is gory, with arrows piercing battle victims, there is little blood. Roman engineering ingenuity is demonstrated through pictures of the pile or pontoon bridges that army engineers constructed across difficult rivers. The book also touches on the food supplies, road building, and training of the campaigning troops. A well-drawn map outlines the empire. End pages offer illustrations of the enemies of Rome in their battle uniforms. While this title may not satisfy the needs of more advanced report writers, it is full of information. Moira Butterfield's Going to War in Roman Times (Watts, 2001) is likely to be more useful for research. However, Roman Army is a solid first choice for school and public libraries.-Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

This book is well organized and accurate in presenting the structure, ranks, equipment, and tactics of the Roman army. Numerous boldly colored illustrations elucidate the text, from battle to mess kits, but their superhero-style soldiers and the admiring tone of the volume create an impression of near-gods. Bib., ind. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.