Customer Reviews

The Iliad and the Odyssey

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

 

 

I would just like to say to the earlier review this book is not meant to be a school textbook. It is not supposed to be a wonderful introduction to the Iliad and the Odyssey. Marcia Williams books are just for fun, it is just a bonus that you children can get the basic story line of a classic. I would highly recommend any of Marcia Williams books.

Williams has a gift for making the complex stories of classic authors funny and accessible. My family library contains several of her works. Her wild and whimsical cartoons captivate both old and young. My kids are avid readers, and they are crazy for her books! These are about the only books that both my five year old and my teen want to read. A warning for the sensitive: this book is about the Trojan war, and it does include killing, blood, a creepy illustration of the cyclops eating Odysseus's men, etc. There's no story left if all the scary bits are taken out, so be prepared!

When we were looking for a good book for a 6-year-old whose name is Agamemnon, to give him some context for his name outside of our family, we found this book at the library. He really enjoyed having us read it to him, then later for him to read himself. A great book!

Marcia Williams' series is a wonderful way to introduce erudite topics to a young child. I have an 8 year old boy who is an avid reader, and is currently completely enthralled with the Percy Jackson series. With all of the Greek and Roman mythology, my child has devoured this book as well as Marcia William's mythology book. The illustrations are tasteful, accurate and pleasing to the eye. The summaries strike just the right balance of being readable and accurate. I highly recommend this series to anyone wanting to push the horizons of their little ones (or even themselves). She does books on Beowulf, Shakespeare and other highly regarded classics.

I am thinking about adding a world mythology flair to our family reading. It's hard to read this book as a straight story -- it is fairly cartoonish -- but it is great for introducing the characters and stories to children. Marcia Williams simplifies and clarifies the stories -- and all her characters are funny.

Never has a book so insulted my intelligence more than this one, REALLY! Does the author actually expect me to believe that this will be entertaining to my children. This book only demonstrates how far the modern age has stooped in the dumbing-down of our children. A good introduction for children is "The Iliad of Homer (Oxford Myths and Legends)" by Barbara Leonie Picard and Joan Kiddell-Monroe (Illustrator), but stay away from this one for sure!