As I mentioned in a recent interview, in the past decade and a half there has been an explosion of interest in Greek mythology among children, due in great part (in my opinion) to Rick Riordan’s block-buster Percy Jackson series for tweens.
For younger kids/siblings who are not yet ready to tackle Percy Jackson, but are feeling left out of the Greek phenomena, here’s a fun and accessible primer series: Heroes In Training.
This series imagines many of the main figures in the Greek pantheon – Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter and so on – in their youth, just as they are beginning to understand and claim their awesome powers and mount a campaign against the Titan Cronus. It is an interesting angle, because the classics rarely dwell on the gods in their childhood and coming-of-age.
The style of the Heroes in Training books is energetic, breezy, silly and fun. It contains hints of romance, not sure why for this age group, but anyway, that’s how these series go.
For mythology purists (like one of my sons!), the authors take a few too many liberties with the classical details – the chronology and relationships etc. – but all in all, these books are a fun read and have the perfect amount of text:white-space:illustration ratio for early chapterbook readers and reluctant readers. Readers of all stripes will come away with a decent sense of many of the Greek gods and goddesses, their characteristics and stories. (FYI there is a sister series, Goddess Girls, that features the Greek goddesses as protagonists that appears more overtly marketed towards girls – not quite sure why the publishers decided to split things this way, as I imagine both boys and girls would be interested in the stories of all the protagonists.)
While the primary series written by Jane Holub and Suzanne Williams includes 12 books, the publisher seems to be adding new books written by a different author. But the original 12 listed below are a good place to start. These books are best read in order. Enjoy!
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