A Roman Tale

Ten-year-old Paulus has been the man of the house on his family's farm for five years while his father was away at war. He knows and loves every hill and tree that follows the stream. Most of all, he loves the animals: the old donkey Ploddy, the few sheep, and the hens.

Then Father finally comes home--but he is not the tall soldier in the golden breastplate that Paulus remembers. War has changed him. He has seen magnificent cities and now dreams of selling the farm to find fortune in Rome.

For Paulus, leaving means saying goodbye to everything he knows. But Father is the head of the family, and when he decides to move, Paulus has no choice but to follow.

In Rome, the streets are noisy and crowded. School means learning the laws of Rome instead of lessons at home with old Adolphe. The apartment is tiny and there is no place for the animals Paulus loves so dearly.

How will one boy hold on to what matters most--when everything around him has changed?

A Roman Tale of 123 B.C.E. brings ancient Rome to life through the eyes of a young hero navigating family, change, and what it really means to belong.