Richard PlattRoman Diary

I’m quite fascinated by classical history myself, so my children know a fair bit about the topic as well. Given that, I quite like the concept of this book as it provides a further context to their knowledge. I intended to use of it for guided reading in which case it is good for little side-debates while we are working through the book. After all, topics such as clothing, food, leisure, politics, architecture, slavery and class are all addressed throughout the book.This is a great book that is fun to read because other than most stories about megalomaniacs like Ceasar, Constantine or Hadrian it provides a perspective on aspects of the life of more ordinary roman people. The narrative is about a Greek slave girl Iliona that was captured by pirates. The setting takes place in 107 AD. Although it is not a picture book it is nicely presented and well illustrated. The text is a little dense perhaps for the younger readers but the story was inserting enough to keep them yogin. The art and captions nicely complement the narrative. I should say that it has its dramatic elements like slavery, the murder of Iliona’s parents, the examination of chicken entrails, mild sexual avances towards slaves and the harshness of roman society in general. Just be aware of this, though I would say that apart from the past 100 years or so, these where pretty common things in most people’s lives and therefore not bad for children to be aware of.

A great story shared with my year 3 class. Written as a diary entry it explains life as a slave during Roman times. A great addition to our topic this term.

Purchased as part of learning about The Romans, Small Person read it in a few sittings and enjoyed it very much.

Read this with my 8 year old daughter and 10 year old son, who both enjoyed it. It taught my children a lot (and introduced me to subligari and mamillares!) - I particularly liked the way an explanation of Roman plumbing was woven into the story. The captioned pictures add to the text, though incorporating the captions into the reading breaks the flow of the story slightly.

Really enjoyed the narrative and character developments. Heartily recommend.

I bought this to read to my son, aged 6 and a newly-independent reader, just prior to a family trip to Bath. He is hooked on the story and remembers plenty of detail from one day to the next. Two things I particularly like about it: the vocab stretches him just enough and I like how the story encompasses so many aspects of Roman life without seeming too obvious. I am hoping he’ll re-read it for himself when he reaches peak interest in a year or two when the Roman era is likely introduced at his school. I have since ordered the Castle Diary and Egyptian Diary versions - mainly to support my own teaching of KS2 history of art in an independent school.

If your child is studying Rome, then this is a perfect gift to deepen the understanding of life in ancient times. Also, a great model for diary writing genre which is part of the current curriculum for writing.

Good value class read