You Wouldn't Want to Live in Pompeii! by John Malam illustrated by David Antram*

"A Volcanic Eruption You'd Rather Avoid"
Told from a Greek slave's point of view, the reader learns about the years and days before and during the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.   Two pages focus on Pompeii's discovery in 1748.
Humor sprinkled throughout via "Handy Hint" sections.
Text features:  contents, maps, side pictures/facts, labels, picture captions, headings, dates/times headings, glossary, index
*Highly recommend.
Strategies: connections (T-T), synthesizing, cause/effect, main idea/details
Text set: (pair with---)
1. Pompeii . . Buried Alive!  by Edith Kunhardt
http://www.amazon.com/Pompeii-Buried-Alive-Step-Reading/dp/0394888669
2. Detectives in Togas by Henry Winterfeld
http://www.amazon.com/Detectives-Togas-Henry-Winterfeld/dp/0152162801
3. Lauren Tarsish's new I Survived book-Destruction of Pompeii (coming Aug. 2014)
http://www.amazon.com/Survived-10-Destruction-Pompeii-AD/dp/0545459397