Review by Booklist Review
Dormeo the dormouse guides readers through the history of Rome, from its creation to its fall in 410 BCE. Each page receives a neoclassical border, with the page's topic heading in the pediment, a descriptive paragraph in the frieze, and the body of the comic-strip narrative inside the erstwhile building. These busy cartoons range from minuscule to full-page and always invite close inspection. Crammed within, readers will find miniature charts, tiny maps, overhead diagrams of outdoor areas, lessons on daily life, and plenty of modern snark. It's an unusual conceit pulled off quite well by employing Dormeo as a humorous narrator, Williams is able to present atrocities imposed upon the lower classes of Roman people without overwhelming readers. Lots of information here; prepare for this book to be renewed at least once.--Petty, J. B. Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-8-Guided by a playful dormouse, readers are greeted with page after page of busy illustrations of the beginnings of humankind, including Romulus and Remus's founding of Rome, short histories of some of its notable kings, and culminating in the rise and eventual fall of this sophisticated city. Along the way, children meet the citizens, warriors, and emperors who all contributed to the evolution of this ancient civilization and learn quite a bit of history, via some "res vera," Latin for "facts," courtesy of the dormouse guide. Filled with humor and a bit of attitude, this latest venture for Williams will engage even the most reluctant young readers. An excellent addition to a history or classics curriculum.-Carol Connor, Cincinnati Public Schools, OH (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Dormeo the dormouse leads readers on a journey through ancient Rome. Beginning with its foundation through transitions from kingdom to republic to empire, many different aspects of Roman life are explored, though on a very basic level. Whimsical cartoons with deadpan speech bubbles inject lighthearted humor into the presenation. Sporadic Latin words appear throughout, and there is no glossary. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
In cartoon panels, the inimitable Williams offers snapshots of ancient Rome from the mythological creation of the universe to the fall of the empire. Lightly salting her account with Latin quips ("In theobroma cacao fidemus!"), Williams pens a semiserious narrative history broken up into bite-sized bits on single-topic spreads ("The Gruesome Gauls"). She illustrates them with small cartoon scenes that depict significant incidents or scenes of daily life. Dropping side comments and the occasional Res vera ("fact") as he goes, a dozy dormouse aptly named Dormeo Augustus squires young readers along. He leads them past the major gods, the tale of Romulus and Remus, Rome's first seven kings, the Republic, the Caesars and a select few other emperors. There are side excursions to the Forum and a crowded bath, plus glimpses of patrician and plebeian life, slavery, gladiators and the renowned Roman army. Though a certain amount of mayhem makes its way into her account, the author tones down the worst excesses (as Dormeo puts it, the Sabine women were "treated most cruelly"that's one way to put it) or acknowledges them only in passing. Not a very detailed picture, but broad enough to leave younger readers with a general sense of how grand the grandeur was. (Informational picture book. 8-10)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
