This book relates the history of Boudica and the events of her time using humour to appeal to the older child. The use of humour allows even gruesome subjects to be dealt with in an unoffensive way. As humour is used extensively it is necessary to know when what is being said is 'tongue in cheek' and what is factual. There is a great deal of artistic licence including the inclusion of gossip magazine type write-ups of Boudica's wedding etc. It is however explained early on in the piece that the Celts did not write things down. By taking these liberties Valerie Wilding keeps the whole publication lively and appealing to the older child. It is anything but dull. The black and white cartoon illustrations add to the humour and I think that the book would be memorable. I could imagine a couple of kids sharing the jokes which they read in this book and being thoroughly entertained. It's definately not a text book but at the same time it is a league above Asterix in terms of being educational. Nigel Cross

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Product Description

You've probably heard of Boudica... She is dead famous for: - galloping to battle in a rattling chariot - being big and kinda scary - getting very, very angry with her Roman rulers But have you heard that Boudica: - learned to use weapons when she was a little girl - chopped off the Emperor Claudius's head (well, sort of) - burned London to the ground? Yes, even though she's dead, Boudica's still full of surprises. Now you can get the inside story with Boudica's secret diary, get all the news from the Roman Messenger and the British Bugle and find out just how Boudica and her barmy army seriously put the wind up the Romans. Dead Funny - Dead Gripping - Dead Famous

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #149720 in Books
• Published on: 2005-02-18
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

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Customer Reviews

A good 'follow-on' from the `Famous Lives/Famous People' series, for an older child.
From the popular DEAD FAMOUS series of books `Boudica and her Barmy Army`.

`Boudica certainly took on the might of the greatest power in the world at the time. Rome! But there was more to her life than that.........
Read on to find out what made Boudica the amazing woman she was........Learn how the Romans fared when they made the mistake of underestimating Boudica and her barmy army.'

160 pages dedicated to the life of the flame-haired Queen who tried to rid Britain of the Roman invaders.

Split into chapters:-

Introduction
Boudica's world
Home, sweet home
All change
Weapons and warriors
Claudius the Conqueror
A royal catch
A town with a future
The road to war
Temple of death
Londinium's burning
She's coming - run!
The killing ground
The final battle!
After Boudica

Written in a variety of fonts with humorous black and white cartoon illustrations throughout, this is a good historical read for an older child.