You Choose Greek Myths The Epic Adventures of Odysseus

You may wonder why I keep choosing to review the You Choose series. I have no connection to the publishers or any of the authors. However, I do find the concept to be an intriguing one. Children exploring, history, mythology, and traditional tales and determining if any of their choices actually change the outcome of their stories. If they have the opportunity to write this kind of format would they make greater changes or would they realize it changes the books from learning opportunities to alternate history fantasies? It is a unique format and I'm continuing to enjoy exploring. Clearly if your child shows not interest I wouldn't suggest forcing the books. Equally, I wouldn't suggest You Choose as a curriculum. The books were never designed for that. However, they are an interesting support that allows students to look at situations just a little differently.

In this volume we explore the myth of Odysseus after the Trojan Horse on his way home to Ithaca. This is why I suggest these books are better as an add on than a curriculum. This book is far more interesting for students who know the story of Odysseus and how the story is supposed to happen. As one contemplates making choices, it is easier to see if any choices made will ultimately effect the story or is fate set, the fix is in so to speak. The first choice the reader is given is to choose which God to make an offering to as Odysseus heads home to Ithaca as a thanksgiving for having won and for a safe trip home. You can choose Poseidon, Athena, or Zeus. Those familiar with the story will understand the choices and may still have fun selecting a risky choice. However, being familiar they will also be more likely to understand the outcome of that choice as well.

Ancient Myths The Wooden Horse of Troy

I became familiar with John Malam through his work on the You Wouldn't Want to series. When I realized he'd become a part of a series on mythology, of course I had to explore it. The Wooden Horse of Troy (Ancient Greek Myths)is Malam's retelling of the tale Of Helen of Troy and the Trojan Horse.

If you have read some of Malam's You Wouldn't Want to books you will see the same approach to giving you all the relevant details of the myth, but still shaping it with some humor and fun to keep children engaged in reading the material. This is not a graphic history, but Peter Rutherford's illustrations do help carry the story as they are cartoonish, amusing, demonstrate the emotions of the characters in the myth, and help the reader to connect to the story.

One feature I rather liked in this series is Ask the Storyteller. Each of these provides the reader with a little more insight into background, future actions, motivation for characters actions, and in general helps the reader to understand pieces of the story that aren't directly a part of the myth.

While clearly a picture book, like the You Wouldn't Want to series this book would also be great with older readers who may not have a background in mythology and might not have a high interest. The information is all there, but the illustrations and the format are engaging.

Olympians vs. Titans an Interactive Mythological Adventure

Olympians vs. Titans: An Interactive Mythological Adventure is an entry in the You Choose Ancient Greek Myths series.

Interaction between reader and the material is one of the big reasons I keep selecting the different versions of these types of books to review. I believe strongly that humor and choice help students to connect to the material, thus generating a natural curiosity and interest in learning more about a topic.

Once through one version of the story a reader can go back and choose a different character or continue with the same character but make different choices to see how those choice effect outcome. How choices, decisions, and even the lack of decisions, the failure to choose effect outcomes is a very important life lesson for children and I think this is one series that taps into a unique way of demonstrating how choices change sometimes just an individual's life but other times the course of a much larger group of people.

With the mythology series the publishers have moved to giving students the means to explore how Greek mythology is effected by the choices individuals make and how those choice can result in a variety of different outcomes based on additional choices.

In Olympians vs. Titans readers can follow the path of Cronus, Zeus, or Prometheus. In following any of the paths the reader will get quite a bit of background information not only about the character chosen, but about the background of both the Titans and the Olympians. While a child could read and enjoy this book without having any previous experience with the myths surrounding the battles between Titan leaders and the Olympians, I suspect the book would be more meaningful with some background knowledge. This will help the child understand the choices being made and why the choices matter.

If you are expecting a book in which the Titans win providing a truly alternate mythology this isn't the one for you. In certain cases there are changes based on the paths taken. This is one of the reasons it is best to have some background with the original myths to be able to notice the changes. However I didn't find a scenario in which the Titans win leaving the Olympians in Tartarus. The big picture mythology stays unaltered regardless of the path you take. The choice result in smaller alterations to the story lines.

I was pleased with this entry into the You Choose series. I wasn't sure how well the format would work with mythology. In most of the books I've reviewed we are dealing with minor, unknown characters who can make different choices without alternating the ultimate historical time line. If a fictional character for instance chooses not to do something, the event will still occur in history, the choices will play out in the fictional life of the character created for the You Choose story. However, with mythology, the characters being written about have made specific choices that are written into the mythology that create a specific story line. Altering that story line and staying true to the myth is challenging. I thought the author handled it well.

You Choose Greek Myths The Trojan War

I've become a fan of the You Choose series as a support for history, mythology, and traditional stories studies. I say support because I wouldn't suggest them as books to read at the introduction of a topic, but they are great extension activities when students have had exposure to the subject and wonder what if? Would different choice have created different outcomes? What was this event like for different people living at the same time?

The Trojan War: An Interactive Mythological Adventure (You Choose: Ancient Greek Myths) fits that criteria. It provides students with a great way to explore the Trojan war after they've had some exposure to the topic. It would not be my suggestion for a first book on the topic.

In this volume children can follow the path of Trojan Hero, Theris and Peleus's future son, or that of a Greek hero. Each path requires choices along the route and an understanding of the Trojan War will make the choices more interesting even if one chooses paths that alternate from the original history. Readers can go back and make new choices or follow the path to the end. They can also choose an new path when they reach the end of the first journey following all three paths if they choose to get a full idea of what the event was like for all three characters.

Hades Speaks

Any of you who read this blog know I'm always on the lookout for books that present information accurately, but also engage kids in actually wanting to read the material. I recently came across a mythology series, Secrets of the Ancient Gods that I think meets that criteria. The stories in the series are each written in the first person by the mythogoical God.

In Hades Speaks!: A Guide to the Underworld by the Greek God of the Dead we are introduced to Hades who provides a humorous discussion of his life as both a Greek and Roman God. He even throws in a reference to Voldemort and Harry Potter and threatens Percy Jackson to demonstrate he's kept up with modern pop culture.

Hades takes the reader on a rather entertaining tour of his realm while he discusses his family relationships, how he ended up as God of the underworld, his marriage, and introduces a variety of mythological creatures, heroes, and other beings. For children familiar with mythology from others books they've read they will find his perspective on these matters often amusing, but different from other books they've read. For students new to mythology it still is an interesting introduction to the topic, but will require more reading to get a balanced view of some of what Hades discusses.

If you are looking for a short addition to your Greek and Roman mythology study that adds a little fun and humor this might be for you. It is accessible for elementary readers, but older students might also appreciate the humor.

Mythology Resources

After writing about the Percy Jackson series it seemed like a good idea to add some Mythology resources to the blog.

Greek :

Alphabet

Cartoon Myths

Heroes

Monsters

Mythman

Mythology Mystery Review Sheet

Myths and Legends


Myths and Worksheets

Myth Resources

Overthrow of Kronos

Plays

Reader's Theater Plays

Web English Teacher




Norse:

Nordic Gods




Roman:

Roman Gods

Battle of the Labyrinth

The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 4) continues Percy's adventures. Camp Half Blood is under threat as the supporters of Kronos are on their way to Camp Half Blood through the Labyrinth. Percy will need the assistance of a mortal and his fellow campers to survive this new threat.

This book answers some questions established in the first book and others added during the following two books. Pan's fate is finally revealed. The author also explains Luke's involvement with Kronos. Nico, son of Hades, works through his issues with the death of his sister, but still has unresolved issues regarding his place in the world as the end of the story. The story introduces readers to more Greek mythology.

This is the fourth story I have listened to Jesse Bernstein read and I am really enjoying his narration. I read this series when it was originally published, but listening to it on CD has allowed me to enjoy it in a new way.

While I was pleased Riordan started to resolve more of the story in this book, he could have used some editing to make it a stronger novel. The previous three books were tighter books with better plot and character control. This book tried to accomplish too much. As a result, it often lost focus.

The Titan's Curse

The Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 3) delves more deeply into Greek Mythology. This book starts with Annabelle missing and Percy anxious to start a quest to find her. However, Annabelle is not the only problem facing Camp Half Blood. Artemis arrives with her hunters on the quest to find a monster that has been stirring with the threat of Kronos rising. She leaves her hunters at the camp and sets off alone.

Riordan has been slipping pieces of the Titan myths into the books from the beginning discussing Kronos and his relationship to the Greek Gods. However, in this novel another Titan appears tied to Artemis and Annabelle’s fates. Percy must learn the tricks of a previous hero, Hercules to defeat the Titan and save his friends.

The book deals with death. Not all the characters make it to the end of the story. The prophecy the God's have been worrying about regarding Percy has an interesting turn not predicted in the previous novels.

Careful readers of the previous books are rewarded if they remember Annabelle and Percy's trip to a hotel that does not like its guests to leave. While the information is revealed eventually to all readers, those who remember are rewarded by figuring out the mystery first.

This is a great series to engage children in learning about Greek Myths. This book in particular will make readers want to go back and check the details. I know I found myself Googling a few details I had forgotten about the Titans. If you want to encourage children to explore Greek Mythology this series is a great way to engage students in reading and then exploring the actual myths. You will find they can make comparisons, demonstrate where the author got the material for the stories, and even be able to write their own.

Free Teaching Materials:

Teacher's Guides