The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (BCCB), one of the nation's leading children's book review journals for school and public librarians, reviewed CLEOPATRA RULES!
Here's what they said:
"Shecter debunks the common fund of shallow and misguided information with a humorous, teen-chatty biography that puts the young Egyptian pharaoh’s sexpot image into fresh perspective…. The text flows more like a gossipy blog than a stilted history lesson…this treatment guides readers to consider the value and biases of old-school sources on Cleopatra’s life and to rethink her image from non-Roman viewpoints—e.g., early Islamic writings and current archaeological scholarship… Even the extensive annotated notes make provocative reading…students on a research track will find a wealth of solid information and reference[s]…"
Yay!
It's always such a relief to get a good review. I wrote CLEOPATRA RULES! in a tone designed to entertain and entice younger readers, but my larger intention was to shift the way we think about the great queen. According to the BCCB at the University of Illinois, it sounds like I may have succeeded!
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