Hercules: The Man, the Myth, the Hero [Hardcover]

Kathryn Lasky (Author), Mark Hess (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up

Based on the Greek myth, here the legendary Greek hero Hercules recounts his daring adventures. Award-winning children's book author Kathryn Lasky takes readers on a tour of Hercules' incredible life, from his prodigious infancy, through his twelve labors, and ending with his heroic ascent to Mount Olympus. Full color.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6. In this ambitious retelling of an epic myth, Lasky uses the first-person voice of Hercules, giving the tale immediacy, but also creating some difficulties. There is so much to tell, and so much of it violent, that at times Hercules sounds matter of fact. For example, when the young hero mistakenly kills his music teacher: "Becoming impatient, I hit him with my lyre. The man crumpled. My teacher was dead!" And, when in madness, he kills his family: "Beasts did not lie at my feet but my own wife and children." There is little space to explain the complexities of the myth: Hera's jealous rage, Hercules's madness and blend of monster and man, the twelve labors, and the hero's final conquering of his passions and death. It is a huge story?mythic, of course?and pushes at the confines of a picture-book length text. The tale's success is aided significantly by Hess's masterful, full-color, acrylic-on-canvas illustrations. The well-researched artwork is compelling and complements the story well. The art will fascinate children but the themes may be a better fit for older readers and adults.?Lee Bock, Brown County Public Libraries, Green Bay, WI
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Disney Pr (Juv Trd); 1st edition (June 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786803290
• ISBN-13: 978-0786803293
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,982,068 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hi Readers! Thanks for coming by my author page. I've written all sorts of books - from fantasy about animals to books about science. One of my favorite animal fantasy series, Guardians of Ga'Hoole, is a major motion picture. I liked writing about Ga'Hoole so much that I decided to revisit that world in a new series, Wolves of the Beyond. Visit my website, www.kathrynlasky.com to see a slide show about the real wolves I researched for the series and for the latest update on the Guardians of Ga'Hoole movie. All my best, Kathryn

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, great pictures, January 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Hercules: The Man, the Myth, the Hero (Hardcover)

I love this book. The story of Hercules is so strange and wonderful and the pictures add a lot. Very beautiful, I highly recommend this book.

3.0 out of 5 stars Hera's Glory, August 19, 2002

By 

Jay - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hercules: The Man, the Myth, the Hero (Hardcover)

Relatively short, this beautifully illustrated version of the son of a God's battle to regain his honor is a good read for intermediate students. Serving the purpose of an introduction to Greek mythology, this book gives a well-rounded biography of "Hera's glory," Hercules. A series of these books done in the same style would have made it easier for teachers to design units on mythology for young children. The illustrations complement the text nicely, however because there is a lot of information on a single page, the picture cannot always tell enough. The text is set off from the illustration in a colorful, but easy to read manner. Some of the vocabulary and pronunciations will need to be explained and demonstrated, and probably should not have been included.

Why 3 stars?:
The illustrations are absolutely wonderful, unfortunately the text drags the books down. There is too much information on a single page. I do not support the condensing of myths, but this book would have been better if it focused on a single aspect of Hercules' life rather than trying to tell the whole thing in a picture book format. It's just too heavy.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, October 10, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Hercules: The Man, the Myth, the Hero (Hardcover)

I love this book! The book has lovely fight scenes. Very interesting book. I think this book would be great to teach the story of Hercules to your kids.