Title of the work
Country of the First Edition
Country/countries of popularity
Original Language
First Edition Date
First Edition Details
Grace Norwich, I am #10: Cleopatra. New York: Scholastic Paperbacks, 2014, 128 pp.
ISBN
Genre
Biographies
Illustrated works
Target Audience
Children (age range 7–10 years)
Cover
We are still trying to obtain permission for posting the original cover.
Author of the Entry:
Agnieszka Maciejewska, University of Warsaw, agnieszka.maciejewska@student.uw.edu.pl
Peer-reviewer of the Entry:
Elżbieta Olechowska, University of Warsaw, elzbieta.olechowska@gmail.com
Susan Deacy, University of Roehampton, s.deacy@roehampton.ac.uk
Elisabeth Alba (Illustrator)
Elisabeth Alba was born in Pennsylvania and grew up in Florida. As a child she travelled a lot with her parents. These travels familiarized her with history and culture of many countries. She graduated from the University of Florida with a BA double major in English and Visual Art Studies. She is interested in movies, children books, specially fantasy and historical fiction. Currently, she lives in Western Massachusetts with her husband Scott Murphy who is an illustrator too.
Sources:
Official website (accessed: September 12, 2018)
Bio prepared by Agnieszka Maciejewska, University of Warsaw, agnieszka.maciejewska@student.uw.edu.pl
Grace Norwich (Author)
Grace Norwich is a versatile author. She has written many books for young readers on a variety of topics, including history, health, fashion, animals and so much more. She wrote a series I am, many biographies about celebrities like: Ashton Kutcher, Vanessa Hudgens, Zac Efron etc. Currently she lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Sources:
Profile at scholastic.com (accessed: September 12, 2018)
Profile at amazon.com (accessed: September 12, 2018)
Bio prepared by Agnieszka Maciejewska, University of Warsaw, agnieszka.maciejewska@student.uw.edu.pl
Summary
I am Cleopatra is a biography book for older children who can read fluently. It tells the story of Queen Cleopatra’s life. The reader can learn a lot about the roots of the Ptolemaic dynasty from which Cleopatra descended. The book also sums up the knowledge about Cleopatra the readers should have after the lecture (10 Things You Should Know about Cleopatra, or 10 More Things That Are Pretty Cool to Know). The book is illustrated with black and white pictures which help to build the story but also represent famous places and ancient sculptures.
Analysis
I am Cleopatra, as a typical biographical book, describes in detail the history of the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra. Illustrations created by Elisabeth Alba help the reader to understand her story even better and remember all the important details. Illustrations reflect as well as possible the fashion and style from Cleopatra’s reign. Many illustrate scenes from her daily routine so we can see her hair style and clothes which refer to Greek style rather than Egyptian (for example a typical Greek bun). In the scenes where she is shown as a highest priestess and queen she wears the traditional Egyptian wig with a crown in the shape of a headband decorated with a snake motive; the royal Ureus is an upright and stylized form of an Egyptian cobra. The rearing cobra is a symbol of a royalty, deity and divine authority in Ancient Egypt. The book consists of many detailed interesting items placed on separate pages or attached on labels.
On those separate pages and labels, we can find information about Egyptian, Greek and Roman cultures and religions. This appendix transforms dry historical facts into a rich and fascinating story. Repetition is an interesting trick used by the author. At the end of the book we can find two extra chapters (10 Things You Should Know About Cleopatra and 10 More Things That Are Pretty Cool to Know). These two extra chapters help to remember and revise all the facts and also come handy at a convenient time, if we want to repeat and refresh the newly acquired knowledge.
