Empire’s End: A Roman Story is part of the VOICES series that celebrates the lives of BAME protagonists during key eras of British history. This book tells the tale of a young North African girl who sets out on a danger-filled journey to Britain during Roman times. This is a gripping adventure that offers a new perspective into the myriad of Roman narratives shared in schools and is full of details that immerse readers in knowledge of life in Roman times. The story helps to develops an understanding of the Roman world as one that was full of many different cultures, religions and ethnicities.

A gripping novel that provides plenty of background information about life in Ancient Roman times. The plot of The Thieves of Ostia centres around a young girl called Flavia who investigates the mystery of who is killing the dogs in the Roman port of Ostia. This is a popular choice for KS2 classrooms and is part of the well-loved Roman Mysteries series

With the Celtic tribes of Ancient Britain leaving no records, we only have the Roman accounts of what happened during Boudicca’s revolt. Tony Bradman has taken details from Tacitus’ description of the Iceni queen and the battles she led in order to create a vivid and gripping story told by Rhianna, who witnesses the events of a turbulent time in British history. This story aims to give young readers an understanding of the motivations that led to the uprising and shows a darker side to Boudicca’s story, giving an opportunity to open up discussion on a range of ideas.

A super-fun novel that tells of the crazy adventures of Perilus, a Roman boy who dreams of riding chariots in the Circus Maximus. Romans on the Rampage is a laugh-out-loud story offering a bit of light relief and is perfect to read aloud to lower KS2. There’s also a free accompanying Teachers’ Resource Pack available.

The first of Caroline Lawrence’s four Roman Quests, Escape from Rome is a completely gripping adventure filled with danger, excitement and some really gritty themes to get stuck into. Taking his siblings with him, twelve-year-old Juba is forced to flee Emperor Domitian in Rome and set off on a journey to find his uncle in Britannia (the edge of the known world). Steeped in interesting historical details and covering some challenging themes including slavery and immigration, this story is thrilling from the very first page and most suitable for Upper Key Stage 2 and beyond.

In the ‘Defenders’ series, best-selling author Tom Palmer brings together his passions for football and history in haunting stories that are ‘super-readable’ due to their accessible layout including a dyslexia-friendly font and tinted paper. In this story, football-lover Seth is interested in the new stadium being built by a Premier League football club, but it soon becomes apparent that something untoward is happening and the lives of the workers there are in danger. As Seth encounters the shadows of slaves from Roman times, he is forced to confront his own fears as horrible injustices in the present day mirror atrocities from the past.

Published in collaboration with The British Museum, this children’s information book offers a humorous and informative introduction to daily life in Ancient Rome and has a high appeal to readers in KS2.

Through words and pictures, the book compares modern-day life for children to different aspects of daily life for the Ancient Romans, including clothes and hairstyles, education, family life, pets, food and hobbies. The book sets itself apart from the myriad of other non-fiction texts about the Romans as each topic is viewed through the eyes of a child. Did you know, for example, that emperor Elagabalus was a cheeky prankster who was known to feed his dinner guests food made of wax? If you think that your school has too many rules, wait until you read about the vow that new students at gladiator school had to make. And the next time you begin to think that your bedroom is too small, spare a thought for Roman slaves, who often had to sleep in the doorway to their master’s bedroom.

This is the third in the ‘So You Think You’ve Got it Bad’ series, with the other titles focusing on Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece. This is the kind of non-fiction series that makes the information visual, presenting facts through speech bubbles, diagrams and bright cartoon-style illustrations as well as accessible chunks of text.

This is the kind of book that helps young readers to move beyond hard facts and begin to reflect on what life might have felt like for those living in ancient times.

If you’re teaching a topic that includes a look at Roman Life then this book will enrich your curriculum and would be useful both when planning and for wider reading and research from students.

After a short introduction to the Roman Empire, on each page we travel back in time to meet a member of Ancient Roman Society, from all walks of life – a diverse selection from slave to Emperor. As they tell their individual stories, we learn about the hierarchy and workings of Roman Society and the everyday lives of many people, including some of the more ‘interesting’ details from history that children love!

As well as gaining a glimpse into the luxurious lives of the rich, we learn about the hard life lived by legionaries from Secundus Nigilius, who often marches 30 miles a day; scribe Cordia Verbis teaches us how she mixes ink from soot and glue; and the Banker, Lucretius Tappo, teaches us the origins of the English word ‘money.’

The final pages of the book include more general information: a map of the Roman Empire, a timeline of key events, lists of famous Romans, inventions and Gods and Goddesses. They also include interactive elements. You can learn Latin and Roman Numerals and there’s a recipe to follow too (thankfully it’s for baking bread and not for the Roman delicacy of dormice dipped in honey!)

Escape from Pompeii tells the story of a young boy called Tranio who lives in Pompeii at the time of the famous eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79. This captivating picture book allows readers to follow the footsteps of Tranio and his friend Livia as they come to terms with the destruction of their city and find their own routes to freedom.

There is also an accompanying 2-week English unit available from KS2History.

This engaging book is a fun hybrid between graphic novel, activity book and information text. The story, told in graphic novel form, follows a group of friends who travel back in time and explore Ancient Rome. At various different points in the story there are relevant puzzles, fact boxes, activities and project ideas. This book has a high visual appeal and is a great addition to your library of Roman topic books.