Gladiators

April 1, 2013

Gr 4-6-Each title opens with an account of a dramatic battle or operation, followed by chapters about its featured warriors' history, recruitment and training, weapons and tactics, and lifestyle. The volumes are clearly designed and written with the Common Core State Standards in mind. The texts are paired with captioned, average-quality photos and reproductions and maps. Sidebars include primary-source excerpts, additional facts, and/or prompts to elicit critical-thinking skills (for example, many passages ask readers to compare the way information is presented in the book to the way the same facts are delivered on a website). "Stop and Think" sections at the end of each title suggest independent research and writing activities. Though the set is accurate and informative enough for research projects and reports, it has a textbooklike quality that might be off-putting to some students and lacks the visual appeal found in the many series about military subjects.

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