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.”
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)
