Customer Reviews

Oh My Gods!: A Look-it-Up Guide to the Gods of Mythology (Mythlopedia)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this book for my son (age 9) after reading the first Percy Jackson book. My son wanted to learn more about the Olympians and the Greek Gods. I gave him the book after school and he immediatly started to look through it. He spent the next half hour reading (choosing the book over his video games). He really enjoys the book and the colorful cartoons are fun and entertaining (at least for my son) As a quick look up reference guide, it's a fun book to have.

Finally a fun new introduction to Greek mythology for the new millenium kids! Oh My Gods! goes a long way to capture the excitement and the fascination of those incredibly dynamic Mt. Olympus beings. I've loved Greek mythology since 1958, when my grandmother dusted off D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths for me. D'Aulaire is still on my library's shelf -- and it's still just as dusty! Oh My Gods!, with its great graphics and photos, pop-up factoids, and crammed texts, will be greatly appreciated by kids raised on Dorling Kindersley layouts. This is a great addition to any mythology section, and it's the first book I'll give my grandchildren on the subject. Although not the last. As an introduction and a companion guide, Oh My Gods! is a lot of fun, but it just begins to scratch the depths of this fascinating subject.

After reading the first of the Percy Jackson books, and being a lover of the Hercules and Xena television series from years back (am I old???), I realized that I could use a little supplemental knowledge regarding Greek mythology. But, I wasn't prepared to read The Odyssey!
This little book is a great way to begin to introduce Greek folklore to both young and old alike. It's presented in a light but logical fashion with lots of pictures and fun details. Don't pass it up...!!!

"Oh My Gods!: A Look-it-Up Guide to the Gods of Mythology" is an encyclopedia by Megan E. Bryant, and is only one of a series of books in the Scholastic series, meant for late elementary or junior high school students; covering Greek mythology at a basic introductory level - not intended as exhaustive, comprehensive coverage of any and all within that topic. The book's best feature is the large illustrations and artwork that permeate cover to cover, including the cover. The purpose of the book doesn't speak to WHY that age level of present and future generations need to be familiar with Greek mythology quite as thoroughly or convincingly as it probably should; ergo the application into understanding ancient customs, beliefs, value systems, and how they impact contemporary academics, just doesn't quite have the support otherwise possible. The quality of editing, publishing, and light-hearted authorship are to be commended. Included are the table of contents, glossary, index, recommend further study resources (including web sites), and start to finish the organization of the book is very professional. Each Greek God of mythology has information given regarding genealogy (ancestry, spouse, siblings, & descendents), love interests, friends, foes, and pets. Covered Greek Gods include:
Apollo - shot an arrow into Achilles heel; known for laurel wreath headwear as a tribute to Daphne.
Ares - known for violence and bloodshed of war (half-sister Athena contrastingly known for strategy).
Asclepius - origin of the medical symbol of medicine, the caduceus.
Atlas - holds the sky on his shoulders (depicted in art as being the planet earth).
Cronus - Greek God of the ancient prosperous Golden Age.
Dionysus - known for wine making & revelry.
Eros (more commonly known as Cupid) - known for inspiring love & passion.
Hades - Greek God of the Underworld, the dead, and death. Some information is given for Cerberus, the Underworld, and the river Styx.
Helios - Greek God of the sun (Sol).
Hephaestus - creator of Pandora.
Hermes (Roman version was Mercury) - inventor of lyre & flute, and had winged shoes that traveled both the earth and the Underworld.
Pan - associated with Satyrs; Greek God of jokes & tricks (origin for the word "panic"); and invented the Pan pipe.
Poseidon - Greek God of floods, earthquakes, and storms at sea; creator of the horse; known for his scepter the trident.
Prometheus - creator of man, Greek God of forethought and planning.
Uranus - father to Cyclops, Aphrodite, and Atlas; grandfather to Zeus; father of Titans; creator of thunderbolt (Zeus) and trident (Poseidon); and the cloak worn by Uranus was the night sky.
Wind Gods - personification of the winds; Boreas, Zephyrus, Auster, and Vulturnus.
Zeus - king of Mt. Olympus; Greek God of rain; creator of Olympics (games of competition for sport).
Other than those main Greek Gods of mythology, there are genealogy charts for the union of Uranus & Gaea; and some reference material for the Titans and Olympians of that time period; and basic introduction to the constellations of Greek mythology.
For illustrations and composition, I'd give this book at the very least 5 stars; for how well it covers the topic material of its title, I'd give this book 1 star; and for how it is kept geared to its intended audience, I'd give this book 3 stars. This book is written above a reading level of early elementary children, and therefore although heavily illustrated, requires an adult to read the text for children under 10 years of age. Ultimately I have to admit this book is what it should be and therefore on average I'm saying overall I rate it at perhaps slightly over 3 stars.
For more serious students interested in more than introductory level ancient Greek and Roman mythology, I recommend "Dictionary of Classical Mythology" by J. E. Zimmerman; which although much more comprehensive, is still somewhat abridged for portability. Along with the recommend books and websites given by "OMG Encyclopedia," Amazon dot com offers DVD documentaries such by A&E "Ancient Mysteries - Myths & Legends" by John Swanson; by The History Channel "Gods and Goddesses"; and by In Search Of History "The Greek Gods (History Channel)."

I bought this book and What A Beast! for my son as he read the first Percy Jackson book. He had many questions about the origin of the characters and their stories. No doubt Rick Riordan opened up a new world of mythology for many children. There are background stories that are alluded to in the series that interested my son. This book engages the children with fun short descriptions of each of the Gods. Everytime a new God was introduced in the series, my son turned back to this book for more info. It was very helpful to him and he has spent hours reading it so far. Not an indepth view of Greek Mythology if that is what you are looking for here.

My daughter learned a lot from this entire series. We both love to sit down and read all of the Mytholopedia books together. The books aren't very big but they are packed with info and entertainment. There are a lot of fun illustrations and the writing is clever and current. These books are a great way to get kids interested in Mythology.

When I first read this book, I loved it. Partly because it was super funny and because it had a bunch of myths I didn't know. I read the book almost everyday! And it gets funnier everytime. I would totally recemmend this book. Mostly to all the Percy Jackson Fans though.

Interesting and accurate, except the jokes which are obviously jokes. My 10 year old loved this book and it was great compliment to his study of mythologies at school.

I bought this to add to a set of books on mythology. I wanted my sixth graders get some background knowledge about the Greek gods before we delve in the unit. Since its arrival,it (along with another book in the series)has generated non-stop complaining about "I want it next" or someone is taking too long to read/look at it. As of today, this book has a waiting list of 14 students (5 students signed up again) and you can keep it for only 3 days. I am so loving this excitement over a book!

This book is a cute introduction to the Greek deities, and is nicely nonthreatening for those put off by more academic styles (like the majority of young people). However, I have to take issue with one of the statements the author makes - that although the Greek gods were worshipped for hundreds of years, they are "not (worshipped) anymore, but don't tell them that!" This could promote a sense of isolation among children being raised as Neopagans, and would likely promote the false idea that Pagans don't exist to non-Pagan children. I am used to seeing statements like this in books from the 1950's, but a book that makes so much of being modern such as this one (including references to reality shows) should know better. The Greek deities are worshipped today by thousands at a minimum... I am but one of them. Now, I'm certainly not saying the book is worthless- there's a lot of good information in it- but would you buy a children's book which told children that Muslims, Jews, or Hindus didn't exist? No? Then why buy a book that makes the same statement about Pagans?