Tales from the Odyssey, Part 1

My son had to read “Tales from the Odyssey: Part One” for school as part of his 3rd grade Greek play, and it was an excellent choice. The story is written in a way that makes the classic adventure easy for younger readers to understand while still keeping it exciting. He was able to follow along, stay engaged, and even recognized parts of the story in his school play. A perfect way to introduce kids to Greek mythology and classic literature!

I purchased this book a few years ago, and I have read it multiple times! It's a perfect read, wonderfully written! Another amazing book by Mary Pope Osborne. The words are simple, 3rd grade vocabulary with some harder words to grasp that may be more of a 4th or 5th grade level, but nothing too hard! This book retells the original story beautifully, and the people and places come to life as you read this enchanting, immersive book. I would definetely recommend this book to young greek mythology enthusiasts!

Okay - first..thank you to the reviewer who had the ISBN number for the 2nd book! I just added it to my cart and based on a review of the 2nd book, it looks like it will be the right one. We bought this for my 1st grade son who loves stories and was completely intrigued by the idea that there were superheros before Batman and Superman. I started to read it out loud to him and before I knew it, the whole family was gathered around including my husband, who has read the Odyssey and Iliad many times, 3rd grade girl and kindergarten girl. Everyone LOVED it! My husband was impressed at how the story was redone for a younger age but was still true to the feel. The groan when the book ended and Odysseus was not home yet was huge! I had to promise to order the next volume today. I would highly recomend buying the 3 book volumes instead of individual books - it makes kids realize that each book is just part of a big story. AND be ready to buy the next volume! The other reviewer gives you the number to look up. We also bought him the coloring book from Dover of Greek Gods and Goddesses from Amazon. It really helped with picturing some of the gods - although we realized at the end of Mary Pope Osborne's book that the author has sketches of them and pronounciation lists! Oh well.... he still loves the coloring book. There are some gross parts (people being eaten by the Cyclopes and Giants and the Six Headed monster) BUT it is well handled and not overly graphic at all. We are crazy overprotective parents about what our kids watch and my kndergarten girl didn't even bat an eye. So don't let that stop you from buying the book. I think everything was entirely age appropriate for younger elementary who have not had a birds and the bees talk as well! Overall - it is a great way to introduce your kids to the Odyssey and I will absolutely be looking for anything written by the author (actually already added a couple to my cart!)

Arrived in perfect condition. Kid appropriate. Has a map in the front and super helpful index in the back with each character, god/goddess, monster, name pronunciation, etc. My 10 yr old son became super interested in Odysseus after reading a short story about the Trojan horse. He read this book and part 2 and thoroughly enjoyed them! He had a school project which was to write a bibliography about a person in ancient history (the teacher was fine with using a fictional character). He used these books (plus a couple Usborne books about the Odyssey) as resources and they were super helpful.

I first read this book to determine if I should include it in a reading list for fourth to sixth grade students. It is a good introduction to The Odyssey that they will read in grade eight.

I am a special education teacher at a high school in the Chicago suburbs and I bought this book for my students because they were not able to read and comprehend the version that came in our standard text book. The reading level of the text was perfect for my freshmen who suffer from various reading difficulties, and their ability to actually comprehend the story fueled their passion for learning about Odysseus' journey. Each step of the way they were excited to come in and read about the next adventure Odysseus and his men undertook, and they began to develop an interest in exploring more of ancient Greek literature. I am certain this version is enjoyed by many young people as many parent reviews have testified to, but I would also say that this is perfect for older students with learning disabilities as this makes the text come to life in ways that they never would have understood with a more difficult version.

Tackling Greek mythology probably confuses most parents and I wasn't any different. I simply didn't know where to begin. When my daughter came home and told me they had done a play in class about Athena, I knew I had to jump in and start somewhere. By chance, this book is where I started and it worked out great!! I got her both Part 1 and Part 2 for Christmas. (Get both Part 1 and Part 2 and you will have all 6 books that Osborne has written, they were combined by the publisher.) A chapter book with no pictures, (appropriate for 4th grade) perfectly accessible reading and exciting storytelling that kept us BOTH on the edge of our seats! She happily knows A LOT more about the characters in Greek mythology that she did a month ago....(and so do I!)

What a fun way to share this story with younger minds. My 8 year old is enthralled with this version and telling of this awesome story. He wants the whole series.

Shipped quickly. Fabulous book for any child who enjoys the greek myths. I have an 8 year old who is an voracious reader she's on the second book Part Two and wants more!

Hält was es verspricht

What say more? Very well re-written classic story for younger readers. Coming to work at university in Canada I was shocked that people here do not know ancient classic literature even at university level, when I was taught of that in primary school. I'm very happy to find this "children" version of the famous book for my 7y old, as it seems I will need to teach him literature, history, geography of the world by myself and it's great help to give him more interest in the field.

I read it with my 9 and 16 year-old daughters while on holiday at the beach, and they loved it; said it was like a made for TV mini-series. This adaptation is very easy to read and makes this story accessible to young readers.

My daughter loves Greek mythology. We started with graphic novels/picture books and this easy-to-ready version of The Odyssey has been a perfect transition to listening to the story in more detail without pictures while being concise enough to remain engaging.