Greek Myths: Meet the heroes, gods and monsters of Ancient Greece
by Jean Menzies, illustrated by Katie Ponder
Interest age: 9 to 11
Reading age: 8+
Published by DK, 2021
About this book
Children may be aware of some of the major Greek gods and goddesses: Ares, the god of war, Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, and Zeus and Hera, King and Queen of the gods. Yet they might not know that before Zeus and Hera took their thrones they were preceded by Zeus’ parents Kronos and Rhea, and before them, Gaia and Ouranos.
Likewise, fiction has often featured the heroes of Greek mythology such as Jason and the Argonauts and Achilles, the half-god, half-human warrior – but what of the lesser known story of the Twelve Labours of Herakles or the Amazon’s defeat of the Gorgons?
A wealth of stories are told engagingly and simply in this gorgeously illustrated hardback, filled with colourful, graphic illustration by Katie Ponder. It’s no surprise that the book won a Books Are My Bag Readers’ Award in 2020 as it provides everything you’d want from a book about mythology for kids – accessibility, beauty and great storytelling as well as a clear explanation of how mythology and religion operated in ancient Greek society.
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Books about the Ancient Greeks
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Books about the Ancient Greeks
The Greeks are fascinating, with their gods, their Games and their myths. This selection of brilliant books is a mix of fiction and non-fiction, aimed at primary-aged children.