Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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120 of 120 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Even 9 and 10 year olds love it!, March 25, 2000
I read this book to my Grade 4 class with some initial reservations, thinking it would be beyond them. THEY LOVED IT! A couple of brighter ones were particularly interested in Greek myths before I started, and they helped to spark the whole class, but they all were able to understand it. I checked with the class a number of times to see if they wanted me to continue, and it was always a unanimous YES! Knowing that the Odyssey and the Illiad are considered the greatest stories of all time, and such ancient, ancient stories, really hooked them in them. Padraic Colum's language is sophisticated, and the sentence structure is complex, but it is so lyrical and clean, the kids seemed caught in a spell listening to it. One of the lovely things about reading classics to children, is that they see how imbedded in our culture they are. For instance, they could recognize Homer's influence in cartoons and T.V. shows! When we finished, one of the rich discussion topics was how Homer's and the early Greeks' view of women affects our society today. A number of parents expressed gratitude and awe that I would read such sophisticated literature to young children, and were highly impressed with their children's interest in it.
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27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A book well worth your time!, November 9, 1999
By A Customer
The Children's Homer is a great book for older elementary children if they like adventure and are interested in learning about Greek society. It is an excellent book about the great Greek hero Odysseus and his son, Telemachus. When Telemachus is a baby his father, Odysseus, is called to go to war. When Telemachus grows older, the goddess Athene tells him to go seek his father. Telemachus obeys and great adventure begins. I personally thought that the names were hard to keep up with, but the book holds much magic and adventure. I also would have never wanted to read the book on my own, but I'm glad I got the chance in school. The book kept me interested just about all the time, and I always looked forward to reading more. My favorite character was Odysseus, because he was brave and wise. He would listen to advice given to him and was polite and thankful. I think I will always remember the story because it shows many good character traits that everyone needs.
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30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Challenging children's version of Homer's classics, September 14, 2004
This book is a 1965 retelling of Homer's The Iliad and The Odyssey meant for children. The language is sophisticated and old-fashioned, with complex sentence structure. The vocabulary, including names of people and places, is very difficult. The storylines are intricate and challenging to follow, especially when read intermittently. While these qualities may capture the spirit of the original story, they also make for difficult reading for children. Furthermore, the 250-page length will daunt most young readers. Scattered throughout the text are simple black and white full-page line drawings; each chapter also begins with a small, illustrated head. The illustrations are static, but recall the style of classical Greek figured vases. While classical Greek mythology can be popular subject with children, this retelling does not significantly simplify the story or the language for young readers. Even read aloud, the complicated story lines may be challenging to follow. For reading in school, the book would be greatly enhanced with a glossary, guide to pronunciation, annotations, and maps. For leisure reading, I would recommend this book only for highly motivated children and young adults.
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