We’ve had a few of these ancient ‘Hide and Seek History’ lift-the-flap books for years now and they still get plenty of use, which I think is mainly down to their amazingly colourful design! Just look at the beautifully vibrant The Greeks by Jonny Marx and Chaaya Prabhat – this ancient world definitely isn’t blank and boring!
As part of my day job, I have spent the past few months designing and curating a little museum exhibition all about the Ancient Greek underworld and afterlife – including paper puppets and giant orange walls covered in human-sized mythological figures! – so, all very normal and sensible. The exhibition runs from April to September 2024 and I’ll be doing lots of activities and workshops to go alongside it. I’m really looking forward to lots of messy Greek pottery-related experiments, and lots of spooky Underworld tales!
Did you know that you can visit a Roman town.. in Hull?! A few weeks ago I headed down to give a talk to their Classical Association, and was keen to explore their museums while I was there. My first stop was the Hull and East Riding Museum of Archaeology. And was I in for a surprise – this is a must-visit for any Roman fans, big or small!
The museum itself covers a vast amount of history – 235 million years, to be exact – and is fantastically resourced: lots of bright, clear exhibitions with plenty of space. You can see the floor plan here: Hull and East Riding Museum. Mortimer the Mammoth is there to greet you as you start your journey, which begins at the Jurassic and Triassic periods and moves through the Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age. Potter through the Celtic Village and you’ll eventually find yourself in a Romano-British town centre!
We’ve been enjoying the myth of Arion and the Dolphin this afternoon with this beaut book – just look at those illustrations! Arion and the Dolphin by Vikram Seth and Jane Ray was published by Orion in the 90s, coinciding with a National Opera performance of the myth.
We found this gem in our local Oxfam charity bookshop – if there’s one near you make sure to check the ‘floppy book’ boxes, there’s usually some great treasures hiding in there!
The only thing we love more than a monster book is a monster-finding book! And Monsters by Céline Potard and Sophie Ledes has every sort of weird and wonderful creature you can imagine lurking in the pages.
wee classics 