One Day in Ancient Rome by G.. Kirtland - A Book Review

This book was published in the 1960s by Harcourt, Brace & World.  Written at a middle elementary level with simple plot, this would be a nice read-aloud when studying Ancient Rome.

“What was it like to live in Rome at the time of Titus Caesar? What did people do all day? What did they eat and wear and talk about? What did children play, study, get scolded for, dream of doing? All these questions—and many more—are answered in this original, sparkling story of two children who lived in ancient Rome. From earliest morning when their pet monkey wakes them, through a busy day—studying with the tutor after breakfast, marketing with Nurse, wheedling honey cakes from the cook, giving a play-pretend banquet of magnificent sumptuousness—until late afternoon and the long-promised event the children have been waiting for, the reader experiences vividly and directly the lives of a sister and brother in a patrician household. 

I thought this book was part of the One Day series because the author did write some books for that series, but every list of that series I can find does not include this title. 

“Based on meticulous research, this charming story re-creates a way of life long since gone but which children today will read about with immense pleasure and a sense of actual participation. The Latin words and expressions throughout, for which meaning and pronunciation are given in a glossary, lend spice to the whole, and Jerome Snyder’s remarkable—and authentic—drawings are full of sly humor, fascinating detail, and great beauty.” (from the dust jacket)

The author, who wrote under the pseudonym G.B. Kirtland, was a writer of various genres. Al Hine was born in 1915 and died in 1974. In 1950 he married children’s author Sesyle Joslin, and they collaborated on several writing projects.  Together they authored Is There a Mouse in the House?, One Day in Aztec Mexico, One Day in Ancient Rome, and One Day in Elizabethan England.

Hine wrote some novels for adult with adult content so don’t pick up all of his books thinking they are wonderful for children. He authored some books based on movies like Bewitched.

The illustrator of One Day in Ancient Rome was Jerome Snyder. He was born in 1916 and died in 1976 of a heart attack following a touch football game in Central Park, New York City. As an illustrator and graphic designer, he gained great success as the first art director of Sports Illustrated and later Scientific American. He also taught art at such prestigious schools as Yale and the Pratt Institute. He illustrated several children’s books including the book One Day in Ancient Rome. His drawing in this book is simple black line and whimsical. “In the absence of color, his delicate, meticulous drawings demonstrate control of line, secure draftsmanship, thoughtful interpretation and a surprising agility for caricature.”

 http://adcglobal.org/hall-of-fame/jermoe-snyder/) 

Some additional books relevant to this title and the study of Ancient Rome include:

City – David Macaulay

Growing Up in Ancient Rome – Mike Corbishley

Who Were the Romans – Phil Roxbee Cox

Stories from Roman History – Jean DeFrasne

Ancient Rome – Sophia Fenton

Story of the Romans – H.A. Guerber

Lives of Famous Romans – Olivia Coolidge

Gods & Goddesses in the Daily Life of the Ancient Romans – Peter Hicks

Beyond Amazing: Six Spectacular Science Pop-Ups – Jay Young (includes an abacus)

The Magic of Paper – Walter Buehr (includes information about papyrus)

Here Come the Elephants – Alice Goudey

Elephant Families – Arthur Dorros (Let’s Read and Find Out early science series)

A First Look at Monkeys and Apes – Millicent Selsam

The First Book of Time – Jeanne Bendick (sundials)

Tiber: The Roman River – Nora Nowlan (Rivers of the World series)

(All rights reserved. Please ask permission before copying this review or publishing it elsewhere. Thank you. Sandy Hall, February 2019)

Hand of the King - Book Review

Book review:
Hand of the King by Barbara E. Morgan, illustrated by Howard Simon

Published 1963 by Random House. 176 pages. Upper elementary through jr high level reading.

The author, Barbara E. Morgan, was a teacher and also served with the British Army in WW II. Her college degree from University of Manchester was in the history and archaeology of Southwestern Asia, Mari specifically. I can’t find any more info on her except this that was included on the dust jacket.

Here is the summary of the book from the dust jacket:

“Twelve-year-old Zak is tending his father’s sheep when two young men, badly wounded, come on the scene. Having escaped from the court of the hated Assyrian king, they hope to deliver a message to the prince of Mari, who is in hiding. If delivered in time, the message could touch off the long-planned revolt against the tyrant’s rule. Enlisting the aid of his friend La’um, Zak becomes deeply involved in the plot to restore the prince of Mari to his throne. Here are adventures and suspense in an authentic setting. For the Assyrian tyrant and the prince of Mari actually lived – 3700 years ago. Through the discoveries of archaeology, much is known about their palaces, their daily life, and even their correspondence. In Hand of the King, Barbara e. Morgan, a trained historian as well as a skilled storyteller, has re-created a thrilling episode from the ancient world.”

And here is the author’s note at the beginning of the book:

“The action of this story takes place in about the year 1750 B.C., roughly the time of Abraham. The story’s background, the site of the town of Mari, on the Middle Euphrates, was located in the 1930s and has been excavated by the French over a period of years. An enormous number of inscribed tablets was found in the palace, including the royal letter that has a place in the plot. All the royal characters mentioned existed. The short period of Assyrian rule in Mari apparently came to an abrupt end, but how Zimrilim, a prince of Mari, regained the throne or where he was during the previous twenty years is not known. This is the mystery which provided the idea for the main theme of the story. Zimrilim proved to be the last king of Mari. After a reign of between twenty and thirty years, the town was completely destroyed by the Babylonians under their great king, Hammurabi. Hence perhaps the richness of the excavated finds dating from the town’s last years. As far as possible, all the details of daily life given in the story are accurate. Little has been mentioned for which there is not direct evidence from Mari itself or which may not reasonably be inferred or vouched for by evidence from kindred sites.”

Mari is in ancient Mesopotamia, between Aleppo and Babylon on the Euphrates River, and the story takes place in the 18th century B.C. I seldom find children’s literature about this time period or about the Fertile Crescent so this one grabbed my interest.

You can read more about the king Zimrilim here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimri-Lim

And about the town of Mari in what is now Syria here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mari,_Syria.

Excavations were made in the area beginning in the 1930s. Mari was known as the far-western outpost of the Sumerian civilization. Many of the archaeological finds are housed in the Louvre in France, in Aleppo and in Damascus. Excavations continued even to as recent as 10 years ago. Now, however, the area of Mari is occupied by armed gangs following the Syrian Civil War and much of the area has been looted.

The book does describe the character’s belief in the gods and mentions Ishtar, the goddess of love, beauty, sex, desire, fertility, war, combat, and political power. Ishtar is mentioned in the Scriptures and also plays a role in the Gilgamesh epic. In this book by Morgan, none of Ishtar’s immoral behavior is mentioned. The main character prays to her for protection as he tries to outwit the forces of evil he is battling in the story line.

I highly recommend this book for your studies of ancient world history. The plot moves quickly from event to event, with just enough suspense and surprise twists to keep a young person reading and enjoying. The book tells enough details of daily life to help the reader learn about that era.

Other books to read for follow-up studies:

They Lived Like This in Ancient Mesopotamia by Marie Neurath

Mesopotamia, Calliope magazine from 2000

The Gilgamesh Trilogy by Ludmilla Zeman

Ishtar and Tammuz, A Babylonian Myth of the Seasons by Christopher Moore

The Tigris & Euphrates Rivers by Melissa Whitcraft

Buildings of Ancient Mesopotamia by Helen and Richard Leacroft, Ancient Architecture Series

The Sumerians: Inventors and Builders by Elizabeth Landing, Early Culture Series (this civilization was to the south of Mari but same time period)

Song of Abraham by Ellen Gunderson Traylor (same time period as this book)

Review and book list compiled by Sandy Hall. All rights reserved.