Young Zeus

by G. Brian Karas

Overview

From acclaimed illustrator and author G. Brian Karas comes a witty tale about navigating family and finding one's voice-based on Greek mythology!

This is the story of how young Zeus, with a little help from six monsters, five Greek gods, an enchanted she-goat, and his mother, became god of gods, master of lightning and thunder, and ruler over all. in doing so, he learned a lot about family. Who knew that having relatives could be so complicated, even for a god?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780439728065
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	02/01/2010
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 11.70(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD570L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

G. Brian Karas is the prolific and versatile illustrator and writer of many children's books including Atlantic and Saving Sweetness by Diane Stanley, both ALA Notable Books and Home on the Bayou, a Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor title. The New York Times describes his work as "...depicted in a childlike style that belies the sophistication of the drawings. Exquisite and moving in its subtlety." He lives in the Hudson Valley of New York with his family. Visit him a gbriankaras.com.

Editorial Reviews

Before he reigned supreme on Mount Olympus, Zeus was a plucky kid living in Crete out of sight of his father Cronus. His grandmother told him the harrowing tale of Cronus, who left the Cyclopes and the Hundred-Handers to suffer in the underworld and ate his own children, so afraid was he that one of them would overthrow him. Only Zeus escaped the fate carefully hidden away by his mother. A brave and fearless lad, Zeus sets out to find Cronus and when he meets up with the sleeping monster, he frees his siblings by pouring a foul potion down Cronus' throat. The bickering brothers and sisters in typical fashion fail to heed their little brother's warnings and so it is left to Zeus to liberate the Cyclopes and the Hundred-Handers and slay the mighty Titans by flinging lightning bolts from the highest mountaintop. His chagrined but still grumbling siblings disagree about how things should be run on Mount Olympus until Zeus yells, "From now on we do things my way." And they do. What fun there is in this rollicking and irreverent tale that mixes classical language with simple direct colloquial expressions. The bickering family has all the foibles and fun of a typical modern family, and readers are sure to identify their own sibling among Zeus' many brothers and sisters. The very readable text that abounds with humor just may encourage children to give the myths a "go." The comic illustrations rendered in gouache and pencil have a smoky texture, with the tiny Zeus seemingly no match for the horrific monsters. What child will not giggle at the sight of the siblings being spewed from the mouth of Cronus? It is wacky and irreverent but that is what makes it so appealing. This great real aloud gets a solid two thumbs up. Reviewer: Beverley Fahey

Children's Literature - Beverley Fahey