The Adventures of Odysseus

The Adventures of Odysseus
Retold By: Daniel Morden, Hugh Lupton
Illustrated By: Christina Balit


Mythology is a fascinating subject. While I've been partial to Indian, Norse, Scottish, Welsh, and Greek mythologies, possibly because they are well documented and easy to access, I do enjoy glimpses of African, Australian and SE Asian mythologies.

For a while, the older child was obsessed with Greek and Norse mythologies. That's when we read The Adventures of Odysseus, a Barefoot Book. And like all of their books, this is a winner.

Having encountered Christina Balit in Atlantis for the first time, both the child and I were thrilled to see her illustrations for this book. This is a chapter book for older readers, possibly 8+, with quite mature presentation. The text flows well but is not exactly kid-friendly, and the story itself obviously has traumatic aspects.

The Prologue sets up the background for the adventure. The island of Ithaca is missing their king, Odysseus, for nine years now, when the book starts. And continues for 14 chapters, ending with the Epilogue. We enjoyed the book in small doses, as I read aloud to the 8 yo, one chapter at a time, often less.

The art work is amazing, to say the least. In fact, Zoo In The Sky and Once Upon A Starry Night grace our bookshelves simply because we can't get enough of Ms.Balit's illustrations.

[image source: barefoot books]

Disclosure: While we  received a review copy of the book, the decision to share the book here is my own.