Escape from Pompeii by Christina Balit

Escape from Pompeii Reviews

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  Abigail

  Two children survive the destruction of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, buried beneath the ashes when nearby Mt. Vesuvius erupted, in this engaging work of picture-book historical fiction. An alert and active boy, Tranio was the son of an actor, and was out and about when the earth in his home city began to tremble. He immediately set out in search of his friend Livia, the baker's daughter, and when the sky turned dark and began to rain down ashes, the two fled to the harbor, where they found safety on a ship setting sail. Behind them was their home and their families, soon to disappear forever...
  
  I am a great admirer of the work of author/artist Christina Balit, and have enjoyed many of her books, from the wonderful folkloric and mythological retellings she has illustrated for other authors, to her own
  Atlantis: The Legend of the Lost City, which she both wrote and illustrated. I tracked down Escape from Pompeii - it had to be requested through interlibrary loan - because of this fondness for Balit's work, and I was not disappointed. The story is engaging - sure to please young adventure lovers, it also gives the basic outline of the historical story of the destruction of Pompeii, something explored in more detail in the author's afterword. The artwork is, as expected, simply gorgeous, with a rich, orange and yellow-dominated color palette, and Balit's trademark stylized figures. Recommended to picture-book readers who enjoy historical fiction and/or stories of survival, as well as to anyone looking for supplemental titles to be used in a teaching unit on Roman history and/or Pompeii. For myself, I will have to see if I can track down a non-fiction children's book about this topic, that could pair well with this fictional tale.
• 
  Dan J

  Great book. My class loved using it as a part of their topic.
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  Dianna

  This is a sad story, but it's well told and the illustrations are interesting. There was a page of historical background after the main story, which is always nice.
• 
  Ben

  A perfect book for cross-curricular links for history, maths and English lessons. Enjoyed reading this to my year 4 class - the suspense had them glued to the story!
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  Sofia Brito

  Read it for my topic Natural Disasters😊Sweet little book but didn’t bring anything new to the topic.
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  Chloe Nobbs

  This beautifully illustrated book is all about a boy and his friend who luckily escape Pompeii when Vesuvius erupted.
  
  This book’s language is lovely in the way that it tells the story of what Ancient Rome was like based on the evidence in a way that children can understand and visualise in their heads. It also highlights the reasons why so many lives were tragically lost by explaining that there were lots of tremors in the past.
  
  This story, whilst the characters are fictional, is very real. Looking at the illustrations, you can only imagine how horrendous it must have been to narrowly escape as everything and everything you once loved is killed and destroyed - it’s heart wrenching.
  
  I love how it doesn’t have a happy ending as I feel like it would’ve done Pompeii an injustice. What happened was tragic and real and no story can change that.
  
  This book is part of my year 3/4 class’s Invaders and Raiders topic from the Stone Age into the Ancient Romans. It lends itself really nicely to pottery-making, mosaics, history and geography and I can’t wait to see how the children interpret this beautiful but tragic story.
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  Lauren Hicks

  Wonderfully written, and very intricate drawings! Gave enough history mixed with storytelling. This is a good one to use in the classroom!
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  Benjamin Smith

  Very enjoyable story. A shame that the roman numerals weren't correct in the illustrations (i think) but I love it and can't wait for the term to start!
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  Jimmy Rhodes

  Great as a support text if covering Romans.
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  Evie

  The illustrations in this book are beautiful.
• 
  Bethe

  Short story about the last day in Pompeii as the volcano blows. I like the ending and the colors used in the detailed illustrations are reminiscent of the color you can still see in the ruins today. Note at the back with history of Pompeii.
• 
  Janelle

  This is a fictional take on the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius as viewed from two children who were able to escape it.
  
  The story begins with what like was like in Pompeii in the first century (as learned from excavation of the ruins hundreds of years later) - games the children would have played, theater, trade, etc.
  
  The tragedy is a bit dark for a children's book, but it's a great introduction to archeology and art history.
  
  The illustrations are statuesque and appropriate to the story.
  
  
• 
  Jean-Marie

  This historical fiction picture book is about Pompeii and the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Beautiful illustration and well-written text show young readers what it might have been like to live in this ancient Roman city when the giant mountain surprisingly erupted.
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  Teri

  This author is really filling a niche in children's historical literature. I can't wait to see if she comes out with more books along this line.
• 
  Mrs G

  A beautiful picture book to use as part of a volcano topic. My year 3s loved it.