READING LEVEL: 3.2 AR POINTS: 0.5

Pompeii…Buried Alive by Edith Kunhardt (1987) 48 pages. [A Step into Reading book: Level 3 Grades 2-3]

Excellent historical account, for young readers, of the destruction of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii (in Italy). Provides just enough information to keep them from getting bored.

Step into Reading has a large selection of books for levels of reading from 1 to 4. This particular book is definitely homeschool worthy! ( )

6 copies

I had mixed feelings about this book after reading it. I liked the book because the information presented in the text was organized into small chapters based three main events. The book was easy to follow with plenty of historical information about Pompeii and Vesuvius as well as information about character relationships. While most characters were not fully developed, they represented individuals of Pompeii when Vesuvius erupted, which made the book more engaging. The author mentions one family a few times as she describes, “The family from the big house was able to get into a boat. They were able to get away” (Kunhardt, 25).

I did not like the book because of some of its illustrations represented and some of the language used throughout the story. At times the illustrations were a little graphic, and while the story was about death and rediscovering a buried city, the images were almost too mature for a book this level. Also, I wasn’t fond of the overall language used in the book for several reasons. While it was descriptive at times, some things were confusing to understand and I think the author could have been clearer. For example, the author uses questions throughout the story to engage readers but it was sometimes confusing, “Then people began to read Pliny’s letters. They read about the buried town named Pompeii. Where was Pompeii? Nobody knew” (Kunhardt, 39). However, big message in this book is about the history of Pompeii and the events that happened before, during and after the eruption of Vesuvius. ( )

Summary: This is a story about the town of Pompeii and the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. It begins by talking about the setting of the town and how the people of Pompeii go about their daily lives. The author focuses on how the people were at the market, town square,and bath house. She mentioned one specific family who lived in a large house with servants. Then the ground began to shake and the top of the mountain blew off releasing a large cloud of dust an ash. The people of Pompeii tried to escape by running into their homes or out of the city. Some of them were able to leave on boats despite the rough seas. People became trapped under the hot ash and were buried alive. Years later people began to uncover pieces of the town and they were slowly able to understand what happened to the town of Pompeii.

Review: The content of this story was good but I did not like how it was written. I thought that the story might have some more factual information about the town and the volcano. Pictures of the remains they have found in recent years would have added a lot to the story. I think I was expecting the story to be more focused on what has happened since Pompeii but it was written more as a story about fictional people who lived in Pompeii. I do like that this story is appropriate for younger students because I feel like there are not many books about this topic for young readers. ( )

"Pompeii Buried Alive!" tells how the ancient city of Pompeii was buried under the outcome of a huge volcano. Pompeii rested at the bottom of the massive volcano called Vesuvius. The entire town was unaware that the mountain that they lived under and loved. The town went on with their everyday routines when all of sudden the ground started shaking and the sky became dark and full of ash. The ash covered the entire town and that included the people that were not able to escape so they were buried underneath the ash. Years later while some men were digging for water they found pieces of a wall. Years later more of the city was discovered. Today people are able to walk the cities streets.

Personal Views:
I love how the story is able to tell such a historic place and time. It allow children to grasp the general idea of Pompeii.

Extensions:
1. Do further research to go over with the students.
2. Create a volcano model to show the students how a volcano works