Cleopatra Rules!

October 1, 2010

Gr 6 Up-Julius Caesar was "a player," Marc Antony a "good ol' boy." Caesar Augustus, once a "snot-nosed, knobby-kneed, pimply-faced peon," presents himself as a "stud" after defeating Antony at Actium. Cleopatra started life as a "bookish nerd." Readers are either going to love or hate the popped-up tone of this well-documented history of "the original teen queen." Shecter packs it full of irreverent metaphors ("Egyptians believed that a soul without a body was like a hotdog without a bun") and up-to-date recontextualizations (referring to the Donations of Alexandria: "Imagine the outrage if the vice president of the United States suddenly gave away parts of Alaska"). Short chapters with banner headlines every few paragraphs organize Cleopatra's action-packed life into easily processed pieces, and the slangy style may mitigate the effect of the unfamiliar proper nouns. Medium-size photographs of objects and images such as movie posters, book illustrations, and paintings proliferate, one per page. A modicum of pronunciation assistance is offered, but there is an unfortunate shortage of maps. However, sidebars with sometimes-silly factoids (games, cosmetics) help round out this view of Cleopatra's life. Respectably lengthy endnotes refer to an even-more-respectable biography-readers are pointed to Suetonius, Tacitus, and Herodotus as well as excellent modern works on the subject. Most importantly, Shecter addresses and questions preconceptions about Cleopatra that have proliferated throughout Western culture since Plutarch. Whatever one thinks of the style, the scholarship is sound: in this case, a spoonful of Pop-Rocks may help the Ptolemies go down.-Paula Willey, Baltimore County Public Library, Towson, MD

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 15, 2010

The author of Alexander the Great Rocks the World (2006) offers a lively, informative and aggressively informal portrait of Egypt's last and most famous pharaoh. Shecter effectively makes the case that Cleopatra was a far more capable and powerful ruler than she has been depicted in art, film and literature. Ascending to the throne at 17, Cleopatra proved herself a brilliant negotiator who used her considerable intelligence and charisma to forge alliances that kept her in power and in control of her kingdom. Describing Julius Caesar as a "dude [with] a reputation for being a player" and calling Marc Antony a "Roman redneck" are examples of Shecter's relentlessly flippant style, which seems more appropriate for a gossip magazine than a biography. Young readers are likely, however, to appreciate the irreverent approach and goofy puns. Attractively designed, the book is abundantly illustrated throughout with color representations of art works, maps and photographs of artifacts. (source notes, chronology, glossary, bibliography, index) (Biography. 11-15)

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October 1, 2010
Grades 4-7 This attractive book presents Cleopatras story through an unusual text, many informative sidebars, and excellent color illustrations: maps, photos of ancient artifacts, and artworks from many historical periods. Calling attention to the writing as much as its story, the text includes puns, informal language, and contemporary metaphors: Cleopatras younger sister and brother trash-talked her worse than feuding starlets at a Hollywood club. Even young readers initially drawn to this approach may tire of the chatty tone or puzzle over more dated figures of speech, such as Cleopatras cleverness had even Antonys own soldiers laughing into their helmets. Still, Shecters solid research is evident in her account of events as well as the back matter, which includes informative notes, a time line, a glossary, bibliographies of primary and secondary sources, and source notes for the illustrations. The dramatic book jacket will draw many readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)