Cleopatra

Title: Cleopatra

Author: Adele Geras

Illustrator: M.P. Robertson

Non-Fiction  #3

The first thing I loved about this book is the fact that it is told through the perspective of Nefret, Cleopatra’s handmaid.  The book is absolutely full of information about Cleopatra and her life in Ancient Egypt. Being someone who has done a research paper or two of this Queen of the Nile, I thought I wouldn’t have learned anything from reading this book. However, I was proven wrong. I learned several small tidbits of information that I had never been exposed to before. I like how the author was able to get in information about other main historical figures from the time including Caesar and Pompey and give the reader some understanding of their significance. Not to mention, the illustrations in this text were absolutely beautiful. They were detailed, colorful, and very interesting to look at. I think kids would love looking at the pictures.

Perhaps my favorite part(s) of the book were at the end. I loved the page that included an illustration of Cleopatra’s family tree and the written description that followed. I feel like the author did a good job of explaining such a complicated royal family and why they intermarried. I also loved the map of Nefret’s world as well as the one of Alexandria. They gave the reader an excellent context for the story that was told. The pages that followed detailed information about the people, the roman army, the Nile River, children and education, pharaohs, pyramids, and religion, gods and goddesses, and the glossary; they were all superb and so full of interesting facts and details . This book alone could stand as the basis of the information gathered for a unit about Ancient Egypt. This is definitely one to add to your non-fiction section in your classroom library.