It's All Greek to Me #8 (Time Warp Trio) [Hardcover]

Jon Scieszka (Author), Lane Smith (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up | Series: Time Warp Trio

As they are about to go on stage, Joe, Fred, and Sam are transported back to the time of Zeus and the other gods in Greek mythology, who, strangely enough, behave much as the characters in the trio's class play.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Great Zeus! Ace author-illustrator team Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith (of Stinky Cheese Man fame) get together again for the eighth title in their popular Time Warp Trio series. Fred, Sam, and narrator Joe are innocently performing a school play about Mount Olympus when "The Book" (a magic tome so dangerous it had been locked away) whirls them into the Greek underworld. Armed with little but a fake thunderbolt and a spray-painted golden apple, they find themselves at the gates of Hades, confronting a slavering, three-headed, not at all mythical Cerberus. ("'Nice doggie, nice doggie, nice doggie,' said Sam.") After a lucky escape, they get to the "real" Olympus only to be embroiled in an increasingly dangerous series of disagreements with the cheeky, wise-cracking, bickering immortals. Will they ever find "The Book" on Olympus, as they must in order to get safely back to opening night? Well, yes--but only just. For the confused or curious, there's a short glossary of Greek gods and monsters along with a pronunciation guide. (Ages 6 to 11) --Richard Farr

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-5-Hey, are you ready for this? Joe, Fred, and Sam are transported back in time to Mount Olympus while performing in a school play about ancient Greece. Needless to say, they aren't much of a threat when they try to use their cardboard thunderbolts on Cerberus. Instead, the boys use their wits, and a Ding Dong in the case of the three-headed dog, as they quickly slip in and out of danger. Children who know Nike is the Greek goddess of victory will double over with laughter when Sam Orpheus, friend of Nike, introduces his chums as Fred Cyclops, follower of Reebok, and Joe Paris, cohort of Fila. Humor continues as the friends help hide a nervous Zeus, who is worried that his wife, Hera, will blab to the other gods if she finds out he lost his thunderbolts. Dionysus wants to party and Ares wants to fight, but the real trouble starts when Zeus challenges Joe to give his golden apple to the fairest of all goddesses. This entry in the series is guaranteed to sail off of library shelves. Purchase extra copies for teachers to use in their units on Greek mythology. A handy description of the gods, goddesses, and other monsters who rule Olympus is included.
Linda L. Plevak, Alamo Area Library System, San Antonio, TX
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 80 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile; First Edition edition (October 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670885967
• ISBN-13: 978-0670885961
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,172,333 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jon Scieszka was born in Flint, Michigan on September 8th, 1954. He grew up with five brothers, has the same birthday as Peter Sellers and the Virgin Mary, and a sneaking suspicion that the characters in his Dick and Jane reader were not of this world. Those plain facts, plus his elementary school principal dad, Louis, his registered nurse mom, Shirley (who once took Jon's Cub Scout den on a field trip to the prenatal ward), Mad Magazine, four years of pre-med undergrad, "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show", an M.F.A. in Fiction from Columbia University, Robert Benchley, five years of painting apartments in New York City, his lovely wife Jeri Hansen who introduced him to Molly Leach and Lane Smith, Green Eggs and Ham, his teenage daughter Casey and almost teenage son Jake, ten years of teaching a little bit of everything from first grade to eighth grade, and the last twenty years of living in Brooklyn...are just some of Jon's answers to the questions, "Where do you get your ideas?" and/or "How did you become a writer?" I don't know, just because, none of your beeswax, and flapdoodle poppycock and balderdash are some more of Jon's answers to questions you can imagine on your own. Jon met up with Lane Smith around 1986 or so, and nothing has been the same since. Their first book, the wiseguy fairy tale retelling, The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! was initially rejected by most publishers as "too weird" and "too sophisticated". Published by Viking in 1989, The True Story has now sold over a million copies, been translated into ten languages, and been called a "classic picture book for all ages". Jon and Lane's The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales (1992) took the world of the picture book a few steps further. Goofing with the conventions of fairy tales and even being a book, The Stinky Cheese Man became a household word, sold another mess of copies in multiple languages, offended a few purists, and still managed to win a Caldecott Honor medal. Math Curse (1995) further stretched the notion of what subjects make good picture books, selling more books faster than either 3 Little Pigs or Stinky Cheese, and winning a whole slew of awards --all for a book full of mathematics.More recently, Jon and Lane have resurrected fables (in the smart, funny, and a little bit wicked way Aesop would have wanted them) in their latest collaboration, Squids Will Be Squids (1998). No telling where they might take the picture book next. Someone once wrote, "Jon Scieszka has forever changed the face of children's literature." And while there is still some confusion over exactly who that someone was, and whether children's literature does, in fact, have a face, most would agree-from The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! to Squids Will Be Squids, since Scieszka put pen to paper, children's literature sure has been...different.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A really enjoyable book..., April 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: It's All Greek to Me #8 (Time Warp Trio) (Hardcover)

This book grabs the your attention right from the start and keeps you interested with fast-paced action, entertaining dialogue and a humorous plot. It's the first "Time Warp Trio" book I've read and I really enjoyed it. Joe, Fred and Sam are magically transported into the world of Greek mythology where they run from vicious three-headed dogs, exchange witty insults with Hera, queen of the gods, and outsmart Zeus and the other gods on Mount Olympus, before they find their way back home. If you know a little bit about Greek mythology you will be amused by the characterization of the gods and godesses and you will find yourself wanting to learn even more. The book is easy to read and hard to put down!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's Mount Olympus!, September 10, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: It's All Greek to Me (Time Warp Trio) (Paperback)

Do you like the movie Hercules but dislike Hercules and the story line? If that's true, (or even if it isn't) this is the book for you! Of course, the Time Warp Trio gets stuck in Greek and have to get back home. They meet up with all the Greeks gods from Zeus to Hera, from Aphrodite to Apollo, and from Artemis to Hades! The Trio have to trick the gods with puzzles to get The Book and get home. I recommend this book to anyone and everyone!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Adventure You'll Never Forget, April 10, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: It's All Greek to Me (Time Warp Trio) (Paperback)

Kids that don't usually like to read will want to read this book because when you start reading it, you feel like you are in the book. Also, when you start reading it, you don't want to stop.