Gr 3-5-After brief accounts of the events of 79 A.D. and the first archaeological investigations of the city that lay beneath the fields surrounding Mt. Vesuvius, Osborne's straightforward text focuses on the life at Pompeii at the time of the volcano's eruption. Discussions of daily activities include mention of the many types of buildings unearthed, such as private homes, bakeries, baths, and markets, as well as the activities enjoyed by the free citizens of Pompeii-concerts, plays, and gladiator fights. A large illustration, flanked on the right by two boxes containing text and a smaller picture, occupies most of each spread. Christensen's distinctive, haunting frescoes are reminiscent of the art found throughout the site. Some illustrations are copies of original artwork, while others offer glimpses into what the city may have looked like prior to the volcano's eruption, detail objects found on location, and offer readers information on dress, decoration, and architecture. The illustrations are framed with decorative patterns typical of the period and the colors used reflect those found at Pompeii, including the distinctive, earthen red of some of its most familiar frescoes. While Osborne's text does not go into great detail, it will serve as an enticing introduction to this legendary city "frozen in time." Students ready for more information will be fascinated by James M. Deem's Bodies from the Ash (Houghton, 2005), illustrated with outstanding color photos.-Daryl Grabarek, School Library Journal (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(Intermediate) The jacket art, a pair of Ionic columns framing an erupting Mount Vesuvius, alerts readers to the drama, history, and beauty inside this account of the destruction and rediscovery of Pompeii. The two-thousand-year-old picture-perfect day in the first double-page spread is partnered with a suitably languid text, but the pace intensifies and the artist's palette darkens as rocks, volcanic ash, and toxic gases pelt the city of Pompeii. Next, the text slows, the illustrations lighten, and for 1700 years the city remains buried. The rest of the book describes what archaeologists have uncovered: the frozen-in-time images of inhabitants, household artifacts, coins, statues, buildings, frescoes, and graffiti. Osborne uses historical research to re-create daily life in Pompeii, but she also asks young readers to identify and hypothesize the function of six artifacts, placing readers in the role of scientists and historians. Brief descriptions of public baths, gladiators, and gardens appear on individual double-page spreads, each a dramatic fresco in the style of Italian artisans of the time and depicting a related scene and connected artifacts. Delicate frescoes on the endpapers anchor the book, echoing the frescoes that still decorate the walls of Pompeii. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

Frescoes illustrate this lovely reconstruction of life--and death--in the ancient city of Pompeii. The straightforward narrative opens with the city's destruction by the eruption of Vesuvius and then fast forwards to its discovery by archaeologists and the painstaking reconstruction they have made of the lives of its inhabitants. Osborne takes care to ground surmise in the physical evidence, adducing such kid-pleasing detail as graffiti honoring gladiators and the discovery of petrified loaves of bread in bakers' ovens. Christensen's frescoes--what better medium could she have chosen?--depict Pompeii in both life and death, her design allowing most spreads to juxtapose recreations of Pompeian activities against a picture of a piece of substantiating evidence--a Roman lady in her garden appears with representations of ancient tools, and so on. Captions engage readers in a game to identify the purposes behind such objects, with the answers found at the back. It is of necessity an introductory treatment, but what a lovely introduction it is, and it will whet readers' appetites for more in-depth examinations such as James Deem's Bodies from the Ash (October 2005). (note on frescoes) (Picture book/nonfiction. 6-10) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Gr. 2-4, younger for reading aloud. Christensen's striking, original frescoes illustrate this lively introduction to Pompeii. Osborne begins by imagining what the Roman city's residents were doing just before Mount Vesuvius' ash buried the city. Later spreads chronicle archaeological discoveries and discuss how scientists form a picture of daily life from the objects, buildings, and artworks recovered from the magnificently preserved site. The theatrical account of the ancient citizens' response to the disaster will bring children right into the history, as will the clear, succinct descriptions of how the people of Pompeii ate, bathed, shopped, and amused themselves. Christensen's unusual frescoes, with their cracked, rough-hewn surfaces and blurred figures in Roman costume, extend the sense of antiquity while making the details of ancient life (and the terror of the event) tangible. In a lovely closing, two images reinforce connections to history by juxtaposing the same street scene, shown first with a Roman Empire mother and child, then with a contemporary mother and son. A note about frescoes and a quiz close. --Gillian Engberg Copyright 2005 Booklist

The author who has inspired many young history buffs with her Magic Tree House series again takes readers back in time in this handsomely illustrated nonfiction picture book about Pompeii. After a brief introduction to the bustling town and the Mt. Vesuvius eruption that buried it in AD 79, the narrative fast forwards about 1,500 years to when the first ruins were unearthed. Osborne's thorough text and Christensen's (The Daring Nellie Bly) original frescoes vividly depict what archeology revealed about life in the Roman town. The discoveries span a range of subjects, from food ("Archaeologists have uncovered many bakeries... with petrified loaves of bread still in their ovens!") to gladiator helmets ("A wounded fighter lived or died according to the will of the crowd"). A pleasing design presents spreads organized into three sections: a large two-thirds panel offers a typical everyday scene (e.g., one shows the busy forum where townspeople shopped) and the last third, broken into two inset images, houses the text plus a related archeological find (e.g., coins and scales in the marketplace illustration). Christensen traveled to Italy to learn how to make her richly hued frescoes (an end note explains the process), and their aged, faded quality adds an authentic feel. A few frescoes and facts are somewhat graphic (e.g., "The plaster shapes reveal family members huddled together, their faces twisted with pain and fear"). Because of its stark revelations, the volume is aimed at older readers, but adults will find also this a book worth uncovering. Ages 6-10. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved