I enjoyed reading this, but what is not to like with Greek mythology? The title of the book tells you exactly what to expect and the illustrations by Sara Richard are exciting and beautiful in equal measure. I particularly liked the acknowledgement from the start that these stories began life as an oral tradition and that this inevitably means that there are potentially several versions and no one version is ‘right’. This does sometimes confuse students; I recall one very lively ‘debate’ with a Y8 class over the ‘correct’ order or Heracles' labours! The book is helpfully divided up into generic sections – Olympian Gods, deities (e.g. Titans, nymphs etc.) and heroes, both those with immortal parentage and those without. This allows characters such as Daedalus, Oedipus, and the Danaids to be included which rounds out the stories nicely and includes stories which might not, perhaps, be so commonly known. Obviously, this being Greek mythology, there are some stories which involve xenophobia or assault and mutilation, but they are carefully told, and sadly such things were and continue to be facts of life. The entries about each character are engaging and there are little additions at the end of some stories to pique the interest further and maybe encourage personal research. The book ends with a helpful index and reading list which is perhaps aimed more at teenagers but within the book there are references to films such as Disney's Hercules or the Percy Jackson books and films as well as the classic Clash of the Titans. I would think this was a useful addition to any school library, and although some of the entries might be a little graphic for very young pupils, this is Greek mythology, and that was never known for holding back!
Open access
