Hercules: Book Four of the Four-Volume HEROES Series

by Geraldine McCaughrean (Retold by)

Overview

Geraldine McCaughrean brings the same flair for action, suspense, and humor that characterizes all of the books in the acclaimed Heroes series to perhaps the most beloved and famous of all Greek myths, Hercules and his twelve labors. Readers learn about Hercules, the human with superhuman strength, born of a mortal and the king of gods, Zeus. When the goddess Hera, wife of Zeus, discovers her husband's mortal son Hercules, she vows to destroy him. Thus begins Hercules’s legendary and epic journey in which he is forced to take on a series of seemingly impossible tasks. He battles an array of both amazing and terrifying beasts, including the mighty Cretan Bull, the many-headed Hydra, the ferocious Nemean Lion, and the three-headed guardian of hell, Cerberus. With the help of the gods Athena and Apollo, can Hercules triumph in the end?

McCaughrean’s striking descriptions and taut prose draws even the most reluctant young readers into the fray.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780812627374
Publisher:	Cricket Books
Publication date:	10/10/2005
Series:	Heroes , #4
Pages:	152
Product dimensions:	5.68(w) x 8.48(h) x 0.64(d)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

Editorial Reviews

Gr 5-8-Part of a quartet of novellas about mythological Greek heroes, this volume does a creditable job of making Hercules a dimensional character whose struggles against fate and the vindictiveness of the gods arouse readers' sympathy. Despite his strength and considerable cunning, he is powerless to determine the course of his own life. After his stepfather goads him into tasting wine, Hercules kills his family in a drunken stupor. As punishment, he becomes a slave to his wicked cousin, who compels him to perform impossible tasks during his 12 years of servitude. McCaughrean enlivens the familiar story with arresting imagery, as when she writes of Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, "The smell of her oiled and corded hair was strange as the scent of the black orchid." And she lends majesty and pathos to the hero's ultimate fate as part of the night sky: "Over the centuries, the constellation would seem to be failing, falling apart, disbanding-.But do not be deceived-.One day, a million million years from now, the sun's small family of planets will lose itself among the seven stars, and we shall be cradled in Hercules' arms." Such vivid writing will hold the attention of anyone already interested in these ageless legends, and teachers could well ignite students' appetites for the tales by reading passages aloud. A strong addition to the series.-Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Public Library, NY Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

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