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  • The Shadow of the Volcano (Shadows of the Past Book 5)

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Wendy Leighton-Porter
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The Shadow of the Volcano (Shadows of the Past Book 5) Kindle Edition

by Wendy Leighton-Porter (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 out of 5 stars (20)
As they continue the hunt for their missing parents who are lost somewhere in the pages of history, twins Jemima and Joe Lancelot embark on their fifth time-travelling journey into the past, accompanied by best friend Charlie, and Max their Tonkinese cat.
Their destination is the Roman town of Pompeii which lies in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, a volcano on the verge of a devastating eruption.
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  1. Reading age
    7 - 13 years
  2. Book 5 of 20
    Shadows of the Past
  3. Print length
    193 pages
  4. Language
    English
  5. Accessibility
    Learn more
  6. Publication date
    April 15, 2013
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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There are 20 books in this series.
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Shadow of the Volcano: Shadows of the Past, Book Five is a thrilling and exciting read, and it's most highly recommended." READERS' FAVORITE BOOK REVIEWS

"What marks this book out as special is the level of detail about daily life in Pompeii... with enough plot and sub-plot to capture the attention of the reader. There is plenty to stir the nerves and make you wonder 'Will they, won't they?' before the inevitable eruption occurs. This is another superb episode from Wendy Leighton-Porter." JEMIMA PETT, author of The Princelings of the East series

"What a wonderful, imaginative way to teach children ancient history. Life in Pompeii just prior to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius is brilliantly told." IONA CARROLL, author

"Author Wendy Leighton-Porter has such a lovely sense of humour that brings even the smallest characters vividly to life... This book is a real winner." FIONA INGRAM, author of the Chronicles of the Stone series

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00CDUXKUC
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Silver Quill Publishing
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 15, 2013
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ 3rd
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.7 MB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 193 pages
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Book 5 of 20 ‏ : ‎ Shadows of the Past
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 7 - 13 years
  • Best Sellers Rank: #2,013,987 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars (20)

About the author

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Wendy Leighton-Porter

Wendy Leighton-Porter

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My books have won various awards over the past couple of years, including gold and silver medals in the Children's Literary Classics Book Awards 2018 and 2019, and a bronze in the Readers' Favorite Book Awards 2019. I have also been shortlisted twice in the Rubery Book Awards.

The Shadow of Atlantis is the first in a series of time-travel adventures, featuring 3 children and a magnificent Tonkinese cat called Max. The most recent title in the series is The Shadow of the Great Fire, set in mid-17th century London, and I'm now working on book number 18 - The Shadow of the Slave Ship.

As I take my young readers on a magical mystery tour through the past, I'm hoping that my love of history, myth and legend will rub off on them too. Personally, I'm enjoying the journey so much, I don't ever want it to end! Why not come along with me for the ride?

website: www.wendy-leighton-porter.com

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
20 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

  • Richard and Liz
    5.0 out of 5 stars Adventure, history and humor all rolled into one!
    Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2014
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Meet twins, Joe and Jemima along with Charlie and their talking cat, Max (Maximus Lancelot). Joe and Jemima's parents have disappeared in time somewhere and so the children are trying to find where they have gone. The main clue is always an anagram. On this adventure, the fifth in the series, they find themselves on Pompeii before Mount Vesuvius explodes. They are on a beach lined up with the slaves. Max is disgusted when he is called a filthy old ship's cat! The children meet a young girl named Caris and it is not long before Charlie figures out that they are going to be sold as slaves!

    What adventures does Max get into? How does he help a lion later in the story?

    How does it all end? Do they get a clue to their parents whereabouts? How will they get home as to do so they have to return to the exact same spot as where they 'landed'?

    I like the way the writing is spaced making it easier for children to read. The quality is good, presenting some history along with some great fiction. A story that really draws you into it so you really do not want to put it down. At the end of the book you will also find some Latin words along with the pronunciations and meanings. The author's notes are also very interesting. VERY, VERY worthwhile reading!
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Fiona Ingram
    5.0 out of 5 stars An Explosive Adventure!
    Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2014
    Format: Kindle
    The Shadow of the Volcano is the fifth adventure of twins Joe and Jemima Lancelot and their friend Charlie. Joe and Jemima have been searching for their parents who disappeared several months earlier. Thanks to an old book and a magical key, as well as special charms, the kids and Max (their talking Tonkinese cat) are able to travel back in time to search for the twins’ parents. Sadly, on their previous adventures, it seems the twins’ parents were always just ahead of them. On this trip, they hope they’ll catch up with their mum and dad. Trips back in time can be dangerous, especially if they end up in the middle of a war, or some disaster. The kids have had their fair share of those and this trip is no less dangerous. The kids and Max end up in Pompeii, just a few days before Mount Vesuvius will explode, destroying the whole city. Unfortunately, they also land up on the tail end of a consignment of slaves. The slave dealer Scylax is ecstatic because he’s convinced he was short-changed by three slaves in the last delivery. Jemima befriends a young slave, a Briton called Caris, and tries to cheer her up. Luckily, Joe and Jemima are attractive twins and take the fancy of their new owners, while Charlie, originally thought weedy, impresses the book-keeper with his skill in mathematics. Joe has the hardest time of all, working his fingers to the bone, as he grumbles, while Charlie and Jemima have relatively easy jobs. Max manages to inveigle himself into the household, but on the night of a party, is booted out. He is rescued by a priestess of the Temple of Isis, and she is in love with a gladiator. An adventure to rival all others ensues, with a magnificent fake battle between Leo (a lion that Max helped) and Felix, the handsome young gladiator. All this time, the kids keep trying to warn people about the impending disaster; some listen and will escape the conflagration, but for the most part, people don’t heed the warnings. Vesuvius has rumbled before and they are used to it. Will the kids catch up with their parents? Will they make it back to their own world?

    I just love this series and, in my opinion, it keeps getting better with every book. Author Wendy Leighton-Porter has such a lovely sense of humour that brings even the smallest characters vividly to life. Max is utterly captivating as himself, with delusions of grandeur after living as the descendant of a god in the Temple of Isis. The kids’ new owner is based on a real Pompeiian, whose villa was discovered and excavated. So much fact is cleverly woven into the story, teaching kids a history lesson without their even knowing it. There are details that young readers will remember, simply because of the way these have been used in the tale to lend credence and veracity. Who can argue with an exciting piece of history? Of course, as in her other books, Wendy Leighton-Porter does not shy away from the gritty realities of life back then. Being a slave was no easy task, and if one was a gladiator, death was just another fight away. I truly enjoyed the rich detail of Pompeiian life pervading the story, down to the descriptions of the eruption and what it must have been like for people at the time. The end material includes some lovely particulars for avid young explorers and historians; a glossary, a floor plan of a typical house, photos of the Pompeiian excavation and more. As always, maps put the leap back in time firmly into perspective. This book is a real winner, and don’t be surprised if your young relative starts sounding like an expert volcanologist. PS: If anyone is wondering how the romance is going between the twins’ Uncle Richard and Charlie’s mum … they are going on another date!
    One person found this helpful
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  • Kimberley
    5.0 out of 5 stars Educationally valuable and a stunning storyline
    Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2020
    Format: Paperback
    I think this might be my favourite instalment of Shadows from the Past so far, and that’s saying something because I have really fallen in love with this series as it’s developed and progressed. But there’s just so much to talk about in this incredible story that really impacted me and made me feel totally fulfilled as a reader. First off, I love the tales of Ancient Rome and have actually been to Pompeii, so the culture, architecture and historical accuracy in the wake of such a terrifying volcanic disaster was spot on throughout. There’s a poignancy to the ignorance of the people and their beliefs about the grumbling volcano, and something so sweet and painfully naïve in the hindsight of the children, who just aren’t listened to at all throughout the novel by the know-better adults (which I’m sure will be both satisfying and frustrating for young readers to bear).

    Then there’s the actual experience of what it’s like to be a poor child with no parentage in Roman times. Slave girl Caris opens a doorway into the truth of the experience, and the twins do all right generally but poor Charlie gets off to a rough start, bless his heart! I loved the way the children wove into the real factual life of slave children, and also the peril this puts on the plot as they try to get out before Vesuvius blows its top. And then there was this gorgeous and lovely sub plot with Max and the lion, which just melted my heart for the love story that he’s helping to bloom, but also Max’s own hubris when he gets treated so well by the priestess. Hilarious and magical.

    A really stunning lesson in real history with a brilliantly woven plot. More please!
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Top reviews from other countries

  • eppingstrider
    5.0 out of 5 stars another superb episode
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 18, 2015
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    In book 5 of the Shadows from the Past series, twins Jemima and Joe, friend Charlie and superstar Max the Tonkinese cat are whisked off to the port at Pompeii. Fortunately they have picked up enough history to know that it’s the worst place anyone could be on 24th August 79AD. So, arriving in mid-August and being mistaken for slaves, they have little time to work out how to get people to leave the city – and little chance to do so.

    Jemima and Joe find friends and more influential slaves in their own household, while Charlie gets a more prestigious place. Max becomes an alley cat of sorts, and has some amazing adventures of his own. That cat needs a book to himself. Oh… check out Max’s Arabian Adventures and Max’s Christmas Adventure!

    What marks this book out as special is the level of detail about daily life in Pompeii, which is interesting in itself, yet with enough plot and sub-plot to capture the attention of the reader. There is plenty to stir the nerves and make you wonder ‘will they, won’t they’ before the inevitable eruption occurs.

    This is another superb episode from Wendy Leighton-Porter!
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  • Iona McGregor
    5.0 out of 5 stars Bringing the ancient world alive
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 3, 2014
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    This is a story I really enjoyed reading. What a wonderful imaginative way to teach children ancient history. Life in Pompeii just prior to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius is brilliantly told. It is skilful writing to bring our contemporary world where Joe, Jemima, Charlie and their talking cat, Max live and contrast it with ancient times. As a cat lover, I grew very fond of the lovable Max too.

    Time travel does this effortlessly and successfully in this book. As I read the description of the gladiators and the bloodthirsty world they inhabited, for example, our modern standards are apparent. I felt the disgust of the children as they witnessed what was then an acceptable and everyday spectacle. The adult reader will appreciate the attention to detail and the historical accuracy which is evident from the first page.

    I will certainly read all the books from this series Shadows from the Past and I look forward to more from this talented writer. If teachers of history discovered these books, I can imagine that fewer children would find `ancient history boring'!
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  • Linda Redhead
    5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant as ever
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 21, 2014
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Brilliant as ever. Great storyline. Can't wait to start reading the next book to find out where the next adventure will take them.
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