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.

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.