2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book is a marvelous way for the young reader to learn about the mythical Zeus and how he became the God of Gods!, June 9, 2010
This review is from: Young Zeus (Hardcover)
Rhea was very worried that Cronus, her evil husband, would eat Zeus just like he had done with the rest of her children. She asked Amaltheia, an "enchanted she-goat," if she would take care of him. In sunny Crete Zeus blissfully played on the mountainous land with many different animals as Amaltheia closely watched after him, but something was missing from Zeus's life. He wanted to play with some other gods and was very disappointed that there weren't any around. The she-goat sat him down and began to explain his heritage.
She told him about his grandparents, Gaia and Uranus, and all about their children. Amaltheia told him how proud his grandfather was of the Titans, but also about his shameful children, the Cyclopes and the Hundred-Handers, whom he banished to the underworld. His grandmother, Gaia, was wonderful, but Zeus's grandfather was an evil creature. Gaia enlisted her son Cronus's help to banish him "to the bottom of the sea." Asking Cronus to help was a big mistake because "he ate up all his babies" so they wouldn't overtake his rule. Later on Zeus decided he must rescue his brothers and sisters, but how could he launch an attack against someone so evil?
This book is a marvelous, simplified way for the young reader to learn about the mythical Zeus and how he became the God of Gods. The storybook format of this book makes it much easier to learn about mythology. The presentation shows Zeus as a young boy who, wondering about his heritage, sets out to reclaim it. Zeus and the cast of characters, who are listed with an accompanying diagram in the front along with a pronunciation key, are all very appealing, a quality that will encourage the reluctant reader to explore this book. If you are looking for a modern day mythological tale that will encourage the young reader to explore Greek mythology, this is one you may wish to add to your list!
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0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great idea, not so great execution, August 23, 2010
This review is from: Young Zeus (Hardcover)
I love getting books for my kids that tell historical and/or classical stories. For instance, I loved the book "George Washington's Teeth" by Deborah Chandra. It relates the story of the major points of George Washington's life while told through of veil of where how many teeth he had at the time (he lost all of his teeth, eventually). "George Washington's Teeth" imparted information that was age appropriate in an interesting and enjoyable way. I had hoped for the same with "Young Zeus," but where "George Washington's Teeth" managed to dole out the right amount of information, I found that "Young Zeus" overwhelmed my kids (ages 4 and 5) with information that was rushed and therefore overwhelming. In the first 10 pages of the book, following is covered:
Rhea leaves newborn Zeus on the island of Crete to keep him safe from his evil father Cronus.
When Zeus grows up a bit, he asks a goat (his "nanny") why he has no playmates, and the goat tells him:
His grandmother (Gaia) had 18 children, 12 of whom were Giants (the Titans), 6 of whom were monsters (3 Cyclopes and Hundred-Handers).
His grandfather was ashamed of the monsters and locked them in the underworld.
His grandmother than told her son Cronus to dethrone his father and then release the Cyclopes and Hundred-Handers from the underworld.
Cronus did dethrone his father but he did not release his monster brothers.
Gaia was angry, but Cronus was too powerful for her to control.
Cronus, afraid of being dethroned like his father had been by him, decided to eat all his children so they could never grow up and dethrone him.
He had swallowed up all of Zeus's brothers and sisters, which is why there isn't anyone for Zeus to play with.
Okay, in my opinion, that is a lot of information packed into very few pages, especially considering that this a childrens picture book and therefore contains little text per page. And there are 45 pages! There are a ton of other detailed accounts of Zeus's life to come all the way until he defeats his father and becomes the ruler of Mt Olympus. Like I said, it was a bit overwhelming.
I think that Karas had a great idea, and I love the illustrations. I also love when he steps away from bombarding the reader with plot points and shifts to allowing his characters to come to life (what little dialog appears is great!). But I think this would have been better as a series of books rather than one book. For instance, he could have written a book only about what I included above but instead of cramming it into 10 pages, he could have developed it over the entire 45 pages (keep in mind I'm talking about a picture book here). Book 2 could have been Zeus tricking his father and freeing his brothers and sisters from Cronus' stomach. Book 3 could have been his battle with the Titans and installation as the ruler of the gods. By stretching it out, the reader could get a better idea of who the characters are and why they are behaving as they are.
Conversely, Karas could have told Zeus's story from birth to becoming top dog but left out A LOT of details so that the book had a better narrative flow - like "George Washington's Teeth." Chandra told a severely abridged version of Washington's life, and it worked wonderfully.
In conclusion, I like what Karas was trying to do, but I just think he bit off more than can be (or should be) chewed for a childrens picture book. Sometimes (a lot of times, actually) less is more.
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