The Odyssey

Retold from the Epic by Homer
Illustrated by Manuela Adreani
Published October 18, 2016

Why we chose this book/Mom's Review:

This retelling of Homer's epic combines beautiful illustrations with prose tailored to a child's understanding. Shorter, but without sacrificing content, this narrative rings true to the translation that I read as an adult. The first line begins, "Tell me, Muse, the story of the cunning, Odysseus..." and the translator retains epithets like "gray-eyed goddess" throughout. The tone and style of writing also resembled that of the version I read. With sleek, flowing figures and monsters that are not truly terrifying, Adreani provides a fitting accompaniment to a compelling adventure. I could not imagine a better children's version of The Odyssey.

Part of why we selected this book is the variety of monsters. I've mentioned before that T is enthusiastic about monsters. In our attempt to sate his monster appetite, T's dad and I began drawing on mythology, which led to T's interest in the heroes who fought the monsters. And that led us to this point: reading a Greek epic with our three year old. I guess this lays the groundwork for understanding the epic genre, recognizing historic literary references, and sustaining attentiveness while reading. But those are side effects. We are enjoying this so much right now because of the monsters and ghosts: Scylla, Charybdis, Polyphemus, and so forth. For some reason T can't articulate, he cannot get enough of these beings. And I'm happy to be visiting The Odyssey again. One of my favorite topics to teach my sixth graders was ancient Greece, and I devoured the book when I read it for the first time as an adult. Moreover, I love it when T is enthusiastic about literature that I enjoy!

Son's Review
(Age: 3 and 1/2 years)

T was familiar with the story of Odysseus before reading this, and he paged through the book independently before he and I looked at it together.  The following conversation ensued when I mentioned that I'd like to read some of this book with him after lunch.

Son: I know there's Scylla and Charybdis and the Cyclops.

Mom: What else do you know?

Son: I know that there's a cyclops in Odysseus that has one eye in his forehead. And I know that in the pictures one of them has a spear.

Mom: What makes you interested in Odysseus?

Son: I'm not interested in Odysseus. I already know about him!

Despite that comment, T was eager to peruse the book with me:

Son: I can show you around [the book]! ... That's Scylla. That's Polyphemus. There's a tree monster.

Mom: Hmmm. I think that tree monster is actually a soul...

Mom: Now that we read about it, and we know it's a soul, what kind of feeling does that soul have? Why?

Son: Sad because it was trying to hug a person [and couldn't].
(The story of Odysseus in the Underworld has become T's favorite. He returns to this picture and asks for the story repeatedly. T's dad and I read and explain anything T doesn't understand.)

Son, turning to a new page: So this is the wooden horse that they built.

Mom: Do you have a favorite picture?

Son: Yes. The picture was with Polyphemus.

Mom: What do you like about it?

Son: That they're walking on his arm.

Mom: Will you be excited to read it when you can read to yourself?

Son: Yes. I really like the picture of Polyphemus!

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A review copy of this book was provided by Sterling Children's Books.