Romans on the Rampage

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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. 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. My favourite part was when they first stared to break out of prison because every one gets scared of the ginormous elephant when it distracts everyone with its huge sneeze. 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.

I am interested in Roman times. I like learning about Gladiators and the towns Romans lived in but I think the book didn’t inspire me even more. To find out about history I prefer more factual books. 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. 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. The family live across the street from a house where lots of poor Romans live together, because they cannot afford their own houses. Including two ex-slaves: Maddusbananus, who wants to be a millionaire from selling his inventions and Scorcha who shares Perilus’ ambition to become a charioteer. Perilus often sneaks out to the house across the road to practice chariot racing with Scorcha and some borrowed goats. Many disasters happen to the friends until one day Perilus is called upon to save the day while Scorcha is in jail. My favourite part was when they were racing in the chariots because one of the got kidnapped by two other people.

This book is full of laughter and adventure. You will meet both criminals and heroes. My favourite character is Croakbag because he is proud and funny. He calls himself Corvus Supremus, Corvus Brania and Corvus Smartia Pantius. I think Jeremy Strong has lived up to his fame as the King of Comedy! Hello Yellow - 80 Books to Help Children Nurture Good Mental Health and Support With Anxiety and Wellbeing -

This book is about a Roman family who is thought to have stolen money from the Imperial Mint. Croakbag, the raven tries to figure out who stole the money and why they do it. He can’t just ask everyone in Rome, “Have you stolen any money from the imperial mint?”!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. When he was about eighteen he started writing very serious stories for adults, but none of them were published. By the time he was twenty-one he was writing stories for children after realizing that he loved writing funny stories and making people laugh.

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.

This book was specifically related to history because of all the events which happened when the Romans arrived, happened in this book. For example, the book explained about chariot racing, how the machines we use now were made and how different our lives are from when the Romans lived. This book did make me want to learn more about this period of history because of the chariot racing. This sport interest me a lot and after you read the book I bet you will be interested too!

It was not my favourite Jeremy Strong book, because it’s not as funny as some of his other books (e.g Invasion of the Christmas Puddings) but it was still entertaining. Firstly no one will own up to it and secondly, it would take donkey’s years! So he has to make a plan… I like Jeremy Strong as an author because his stories are funny. I am reading at the moment his book called My Brothers Famous Bottom Gets Pinched! If Jeremy wasn't a writer he would want to play the piano really, really well, or be a terrific artist. 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?

Jo and Arturo: This book was set in Roman times. It has loads of fantastic characters such as Perilus the owner of the raven, Krysis (Perilus’s dad), Flavia (Perilus’ mum) and Hysteria (Perilus’ sister). The key events in this book are about Scorcha the charioteer getting sent to prison on his big day of chariot racing. It’s also about a raven that beomlgs to a family that absolutely loves biscuits. I think you can guess what happens in the end. If not I’ll tell you only a tiny bit of it though so that I don’t ruin it for you. Croakbag the raven gets as much digestive biscuits as he could ever imagine. I would recommend this to everyone in the world literally. Scorcha didn’t know anything about it but Trandia (Maddasbannanus’s old girlfriend) loves him and kisses him. Antonina: I really enjoyed this book and read it in only three days. This book is about a boy called Perilus and a raven his pet. The raven does not have a name. I think my favourite place was the Villa because it was described well. It has a swimming pool and a bush growing in the middle of it. WHAT A GOOD PLACE TO LIVE!!!!!!! Perilus wanted to be a charioteer…BUT HE WAS PUT IN PRISON BECAUSE OF MAD PRACTICING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! His friend was an inventor and wanted to invent a tree that grows ships. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!! Remember this is not all the fun!!!... This book is so interesting I give it five stars!!!!!!!!!! There are two mysteries to solve in this book. Who stole the money from the Imperial Mint? Who had tried to kidnap a chariot racer so he couldn’t win? All will be revealed after you read the book… What I liked about the story was that it was very funny and interesting because of Croakbag and Perilus who were really funny.