Romans on the Rampage

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The book is very similar to other Jeremy Strong books. It’s humorous. He uses lots of funny names for the characters like, Flippus Floppus and Hysteria, who is Perilus’ older sister. It is easy to understand. The author is very good at describing objects, such as Maddusbananas’ inventions. The book includes some Latin words so the reader is learning as well. The book gives lots of factual information, including what it would be like to be rich or poor in ancient Rome. For example the reader learns that it was possible for slaves to be freed and educated and what wealthy Roman ate; ostrich and stuffed dormice! I think the book is accurate because it matched lots of things I already knew about Ancient Rome. Tai: This book is about someone fulfilling their dreams. This is a story is about a slave boy named Perilus who always wanted to be a charioteer. Who finally got his chance when Scorcha, the greatest charioteer in Rome, got put in jail on the big race day for stealing some goats. Perilus took his place and won the race, so Scorcha could get into the green team: Rome’s greatest chariot team. My favourite part of the story was the excitement of the chariot racing. I enjoyed all the characters in the story but one of my favourite one’s was Perilus because he is an intelligent ,interesting character and I also found the raven interesting because he was the narrator of the story. I would rate this book five stars. There was nothing I didn’t like or there was nothing I would improve about the story. Kitty: Perlis is crazy about chariot racing. And is being taught by Scorcher [the best charioteer in Rome.] Unfortunately, scorcher has been sent to jail … even worse on the BIG RACE! What’s perilous going to do? This book is based in the roman period .I would also recommend this for [9-11] years. As this will make u giggle and smile for the rest of the day.

The part I liked the least was when the author was talking to a crow from the past. The book would have been better if the author had missed the crow out altogether. Tia: I really enjoyed this book. I think the book isn’t realistic but there was a lot of funny parts. I learnt a lot more Latin words from the book. I particularly liked Croakbag the raven. He, in my opinion, is the funniest character. Also, Croakbag is the person, that tells the story! Jeremy Strong is a brilliant author. I would like to read more of his books now! I loved his ideas and his books are amazing!I chose this book because it’s funny and I’ve learnt some Latin. There’s a raven called croakbag and my favourite part is where the raven tells jokes. Jeremy Strong is a fantastic children's author. His books are side splittingly funny and once you have read one your children will be asking you to get more. Chariot Champions is a quite short and funny book about a typical family in Ancient Rome. The story is narrated by a snarky and self-obsessed raven who describes the adventures of the family when the father is accused of fraud and arrested, as well as Hysteria and Scorcha (the ex-slave charioteer) and their love affair, as well as Perilus' dream to become a charioteer. Lots of the characters have amusing names - like Hysteria, who always cries, or Fibbus Biggus, the man who accuses the father of fraud. The anachronistic inventions of Maddusbananus the inventor are also funny. This book is a great read and is really worth reading. My favourite character is the crow who is full of humour my favourite part is when Tiddles the elephant broke a prison wall. John: I didn’t like the book because it was difficult to follow the story line and I found it rather dull. I was surprised not to enjoy it as I had read other books by Jeremy Strong before – like “The Hundred Mile and Hour Dog” which I really enjoyed.

Daniel: This book is set in ancient Rome. It is narrated by a talking Raven called Corvus, who thinks he is very clever and funny. He is the pet of the main character Perilus, who is the son of the head of the Roman Imperial mint. Perilus’ family are very wealthy; he lives with his dad, mum and sister in a large villa and the family have two slaves. Perilus wants to be a charioteer, much to his father’s disgust because he wants him to head of the Imperial mint like him one day. Perilus is only 11 and likes to get up to mischief which is probably why he wants to be a charioteer, one of the most dangerous jobs in the Roman economy. I really enjoyed reading this book because it is full of humour and is different to other books I have read. Wherever I get up to in the book it always wants to make me read on. This book also helps me learn a bit of Latin. My favourite character in this book is Croakbag / raven. I like Croakbag because he is funny and never stops talking about biscuits, and also is very interactive with the audience in different parts of the story. I wonder, did Romans invent skateboards?

The history is realistic but not all of it is because the Romans did chariot races but the boy wasn't real. The book is narrated by a very clever raven called Croakbag and is about a very good charioteer called Scorcha and his young friend Perilus. Croakbag is actually Perilus’s pet but behaves more like a family friend. Even though Scorcha is an excellent charioteer, he does not have his own chariot, and Croakbag tells us what happens on the day of his big race. To find out what happens you must read the book yourself.