Macaulay, David. Rome Antics. Illustrated by David Macaulay. Houghton Mifflin, 1997. ISBN 0-395-82289-3. $18.00. 79 pp. All NF PB Reviewed by Robert L. Maxwell Macaulay's books (City, Pyramid, Cathedral, etc.) are always interesting and unusual, and Rome Antics is certainly not an exception. Somewhere in the Italian hills, a homing pigeon is released. She soars quickly and follows an old road, which of course) leads to Rome. Not your average pigeon, she decides-most unprofessionally-to explore the city a bit before she gets to her destination. She soars through some of Rome's best known monuments and streets, avoiding dangers along the way (especially Roman cats and little Roman boys), and sees Rome from all possible angles. By the time she arrives she-and we-have had a unique tour of this famous city. Macaulay's black ink line drawings of a pigeon's view of Rome are accentuated on each page by a red line streaking through crevasses and arches, under bridges and through church towers, showing the pigeon's journey. The monument or area depicted on each page is identified discretely at the bottom, which makes the book interesting to children and adults of all ages. One of the most notable details about this book is the different angles each page is drawn from, including one upside down when the pigeon has accidentally been hit by a soccer ball. At the end are a bird's eye view map of Rome showing the pigeon's route and four pages of further explanation about the sites visited-an unusual and fun way to tour Rome.
