The Thrifty Guide to Ancient Rome: A Handbook for Time Travelers (Thrifty Guide #1)

In the year 2163, the past is the new luxury vacation destination: with this travel guide in hand, readers are invited to visit ancient Rome by hopping in their Time Corp Time Machine Sedan. Stokes (the Addison Cooke series) keeps up the tongue-in-cheek conceit throughout, offering readers advice about the perils of the era ("Time Corp's legal department requires us to mention that if the fires don't kill you, the floods probably will") and entertainment options ("Romans also enjoy a great variety of sports and spectacles, most of which involve witnessing violent death, all for a very attractive price"), as well as information on various rulers and conflicts. Sossella brings a droll sense of humor to his engravinglike cartoons, and sidebars offering "helpful hints," dispatches from Time Corp's unsavory corporate overlord, and faux Yelp-style reviews ("I only got to eat one family," complains a lion in a one-star review of the Flavian Amphitheater) round out a very funny tour of Rome's bloody and tumultuous past. Also available: The Thrifty Guide to the American Revolution. Ages 8-12. Author's agent: Brianne Johnson, Writers House. (Jan.)

Gr 4-7--Finding the best places to eat and the hottest entertainment in ancient Rome has never been easier. This modern tour guide provides a taste of what it was like for citizens of ancient Rome with Yelp-style reviews of major landmarks, hints from travelers about the culture, and details of events to visit and people one may encounter on their travels through ancient history. It's a unique presentation that's written casually and feels more approachable than a litany of facts. Fans of the "You Wouldn't Want to Be a..." series looking for something just a tad more sophisticated will find a lot to love. Detailed illustrations and plenty of maps, diagrams, and jokes make it an enjoyable read while providing plenty of information. Some snarky writing and copious footnotes and references also create lore around the fictional company Time Corp which "created" the guide. It's a cute tie-in that works well with the format, but it can distract from the historical aspects, especially when other fictional events are tied to Time Corp's story. It toes the line of adding too many fictional details, but they never appear in the main text, just in asides. VERDICT This book will find an audience among fans of ancient civilizations but should be supplemented with more straightforward history titles.--Thomas Jonte, Pensacola State College, FL