Customer Reviews

Mythology for Teens: Classic Myths for Today's World

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Oh, to have had this text years ago when I was teaching mythology! It would have been much easier on me and the students than using the "dry" text from which I tried to teach. This book is a must for anyone teaching mythology to junior high or high school students, but I found it to be an interesting read for enjoyment, as well.
One challenge for teachers is getting students engaged in the subject, and this book does just that. Zachary Hamby has taken a few of the stories of the Greek and Roman gods and heroes and turned them into reader's theater scripts written in language to which teens can relate. The length of these plays will work well for a class period with time left for discussion. Activities of various kinds are included as students are asked to discuss, write, research, draw--in short, to think and be creative as they relate the myths to heroes in history and today's world. One activity is a pattern for students to design a "Mythological Barbie" based on a creature or hero from mythology. The activities appeal to students with differing learning styles and abilities.
The illustrations throughout the book are fascinating. Each of the major gods and goddesses and some creatures are illustrated in outstanding detail capturing the characters' physical features and personalities in a cartoon-like fashion--one that will appeal to teen readers. But, far, far from being a teen myself, I could not keep from being drawn to each illustration and took time to find the heroes and creatures in a "Where's Waldo"-type of drawing near the book's end.
Additionally, a colleague and I discussed how this book could be used as a model to show teacher education students how to make their subject come alive. Historical events, scientific discoveries, biographies could be created in a similar way as these reader's theater scripts have been done. Hopefully, this author will follow with additional books that will inspire students and help teachers bring creativity to their classrooms. I can only imagine how the "Canterbury Tales" and "Beowulf" might be presented in a similar way.
Well done, Mr. Mythology!

I have done quite a bit of research on Readers' Theatre so I know how effective it is in motivating students to read and interact with texts. I was very pleased to see Zachary Hamby's book Mythology for Teens: Classical Myths in Today's World for adolescent readers. He has done an amazing job of making mythology and reading appealing for this age group, which is not an easy task. I think any high school teacher can relate to his comments on the acknowledgments page about the frustrations of making difficult curriculum interesting to teenagers. Yet, he has accomplished the task with flair. I believe high school students will find the book highly interesting and motivating. The illustrations are excellent and add a great deal to the book. This is a must have book for high school teachers. The discussion points and teaching ideas that go with each piece are invaluable as well. Kudos for writing and illustrating a book for Readers' Theatre for adolescent readers!

I used this book to teach Mythology this past summer in a high school special education room. When I purchased this book to use a text, I did not have very high expectations since I needed a book fast. What I ended up with was one of the best texts I have used in quite some time. All the kids loved the activities, stories, and the author truly brought the topic to life with current events. This is a must for any Social Studies teacher .

I used the scripts for my 6th grade language arts classes at the end of the year and they loved acting them out! Choosing parts gave them ownership and they read with more feeling and drama than usual.

Positives: teen-friendly, but not dumbed down, appropriate language
many parts for each script
makes myths fun and come alive
each myth is framed by a larger theme/big idea
a few pages of teen-friendly sophisticated accompanying commentary for each myth
discussion tips for each myth
very cool and modern graphic-novel-style illustrations of gods/place names/etc. with a paragraph of helpful explanation

Negatives: no pre-reading activity to provide context

Highly recommended for: Middle or high school English or history teachers.

I teach high school Latin, and with the curriculum comes teaching mythology. I was at a loss as to how to teach mythology. Last year I had my students read The Iliad to learn about the Trojan War, and lost them along the way. This year I used the play in this book, along with some other resources. My kids loved the play in this book! They interacted with the characters, they were entertained, and it really seemed to bring this ancient culture alive for these modern day students. I will definitely keep using this book!

Mythology for Teens: Classic Myths in Today's World certainly lives up to its name. Written in a lively and fascinating style that captures all the drama and pathos of the ancient Greek and Roman myths, this book brings time-tested stories straight into modern times. The legends of Perseus, Atalanta, and Oedipus Rex are followed by the Judgment of Paris, the Iliad, and finally Virgil's Aeneid. Each chapter begins with one of these stories staged as a play and converted into contemporary dialog. Then Hamby presents the actual historical context surrounding the creation of these myths. He explores the cultural concepts symbolized by various monsters, creatures, gods and goddesses, flawed humans, heroes and heroines. His view of history provides a fascinating look at the role of mythology in shaping civilizations, gender roles, and identity. Not only that, but the pages contain fun and funny exercises such as coming up with song titles to provide soundtracks for the situations found in myths. Teens will relate!

If you are looking for a resource to teach middle and high school student about mythology, look no further. The reader theater plays Hamby has written, tell the classic stories in teen friendly way that will keep the students engaged and interested in continued mythology exploration. Sidebars include discussion questions, suggestions for further reading, and writing prompts.

I bought this for my 9th grade class when I started teaching Greek mythology, which I'd never taught before. Completely inspirational and incredible....what a fantastic resource! I whole-heartedly recommend this book for the insight, teaching tips, imaginative lessons and ready-to-use resources contained within.

Modern society, culture, literature and media are filled with Greek mythological allusion, but millions don't know that when automotive giant Midas tells us to "trust the Midas touch" that they are referring to a story from thousands of years ago. Young people will be better readers, and feel more intelligent when they understand the mythological references. This book makes it accessible to the teacher to bring it into the classroom. I think these plays and activities will work best with grades 8 - 10, but are adaptable for more junior or senior classes. This is a teacher's resource, not a student workbook - so it's of very little cost to your department to try this out. My grade 11 students really enjoyed making mythological barbies and the reader's theatre. I look forward to using this again next year!

When told I was supposed to teach Mythology to 8th graders, I was lost. I had little knowledge of Mythology and what I did know, I didn't think I could make it interesting for the students. Enter "Mythology for Teens". Now my students are delving into the stories, questioning life's big topics such as 'beauty' and 'war', they're making connections, and they're excited to come to school and see what Ancient Greece has cooked up for them next.

The students love the reader's theaters and have really gotten into the parts, jumping up and down in order to be picked to read a certain character.

This book is not structured into lesson plans so I needed to do a little research and find some other material and make powerpoitns to suppliment the lessons, but it is the foundation of my mythology unit. Also, the author, Zachary Hamby, gives his readers his email address and is quick to respond with advice and the material he uses in his classroom.

Obviously, I recommend this book to teachers, or to anyone else who is interested in Mythology. Thank you Zachary Hamby!