Ultimate Greek Mythology - L.J. Tracosas - ★★★★

AUTHOR: L.J. Tracosas

ILLUSTRATOR: Charli Vince

GENRE: Middle-Grade Fiction, Mythology.

RATING: 4 stars.

In a Nutshell: A great beginner book on Greek Mythology for middle graders. Entertaining and informative.

This illustrated book offers a simple introduction to the characters and some of the popular stories in Greek mythology.

As it is aimed at middle graders, the stories have been slightly diluted to reduce the violence and other mature content. However, these are still the Greek myths and cutting off all problematic content would have meant erasing at least one character entirely. (Looking at you, Zeus – you mythical deviant!) So judge the suitability of the content for your child/classroom with this factor in mind.

The book begins with two helpful introductory notes. The first one is aimed at parents, where the author offers a wonderful suggestion on how to proceed with the book, and some content advisory as well. The second note is for the little readers, and preps them well on what to expect. I loved this dual-note decision, and that the parent’s note was placed *before* the one for kids.

The main content is divided into six sections. The first section offers a brief introduction of the key characters and to the mythological realm. Each bio contains the name of the god (first the Olympians and then some minor gods), the pronunciation guide of the name, their role, and some interesting trivia about them. I would have loved all the bios to be accompanied by illustrations depicting the god. Other than that, this section was interesting. It could be a good type of ‘ready reckoner’ for Greek Gods.

The next section goes into the story of the initial creation, telling us of how Cronus and later, Zeus, took charge. The remaining four sections focus on famous stories of the gods and the mighty mortals. We get the popular stories such as Theseus and the Minotaur, the adventures of Heracles, the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice, of Persephone and Hades. There are also a few not-so-known ones such as the story of Bellerophon and Pegasus. All the stories are self-contained and highly diluted, so while they are complete, they also feel rushed. But for an introductory level, these tales would work well. Kids could read up more on whatever character or story caught their fascination.

There are some simple thought-provoking questions addressed to the kids after each story. There are also many fun facts about the gods strewn along the way.

There is a detailed glossary at the end, along with a list of references for further study.

The stories have some beautiful colourful illustrations, though not as many as I would have liked. But whatever artwork is there is gorgeous.

The author has made the language and the content quite child-friendly, with some humorous remarks and observations along the way. This book is as simplified as a children’s book on the Greek myths could possibly be. There are too many characters to remember, though this isn’t the books fault.

The official target age is given as 6-9 years, but I don’t see how a 6 year old will get some of the trickier stories. I feel that the book will work better for middle-graders (8-12 years.) It can also serve as an interesting reference book for adults who want an easy way out towards learning Greek mythology.

My thanks to Zeitgeist and NetGalley for the DRC of “Ultimate Greek Mythology”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.