Annotations for Children's Books on Hercules
Lasky,
Kathryn. Hercules, the Man, the
Myth, the Hero.
New York: Hyperion Books
for Children, 1997.
This
book is illustrated with bright, bold depictions of Hercules and the many
characters that are a part of his life.
Wilkinson,
Philip. Illustrated Dictionary
of Mythology – Heroes, heroines, gods,
This
dictionary focuses on several main themes, such as: creation, good, and evil.
These themes are organized into concise factual entries including over
500 key characters. It is basically
a visual guide to who is who in the mythology world.
This reference helps in interpreting and understanding mythology through
art, literature, drama, and many other facets.
Cerasini,
Marc. The Twelve Labors of
Hercules. NY: Random House
Inc., 1997.
This
is not a factual detailed depiction of Hercules, it is a story book.
This is a “step into reading” book that is targeted at second and
third graders. It provides a brief
history of Hercules’s birth, young life, and his twelve labors.
It is forty-eight pages and is illustrated.
This book is a good starting place for young children to be introduced to
Hercules.
McCaughrean,
Geraldine. Greek Myths.
London: Orchard Books, 1992.
This
is a collection of sixteen fully illustrated, favorite Greek Myths.
Pages 51-59 of this collection are devoted to the story of Hercules and
the twelve labors. It provides a brief account of his birth and death but
focuses mainly of the labors. This
entire story is brief but a good reference for young children and adults alike.
Malam,
John. Ancient Greece, Gods and
Goddesses. Illinois: NTC
This
is a great reference to consult about the Greek gods and goddesses.
Although there are no references to Hercules, this provides much insight
into the Greek religion, culture, and the gods and goddesses.
All of this facilitates a great background for learning about Hercules.
This book includes an extremely helpful glossary of terms and is fully
illustrated.
D'Aulaire, Ingrid and Edgar. Book
of Greek Myths. New York: Doubleday. 1962.
Comprised
of 200 pages, the myths start with the beginning of time and ends with the
termination of Olympian Rule. This book is perfect for the young adult reader
with relatively simple artwork and stories that are easy to follow. This book
covers all of the standard Greek Myths, and while it stays generally on track of
the standard legends, it does seem to attempt to lessen the violence of
Hercules' labors. It is written in more of a story than scholarly format, so it
tends to leave out certain aspects of the tales, apparently to make them more
interesting to children.
Fisher, Leonard,
Everett. The Olympians: Great Gods and
Goddesses of Ancient
I found this book to be interesting because it can be used as a great
reference starting point for Greek Mythology and the Olympians. Its flaw is that
it doesn't mention Hercules. This is a short book naming only the Twelve gods
and goddesses, including their Roman names, the names of their parents, their
symbols and also a family tree. This book also sites references such as Virgil
and Homer.
Philip, Neil. The Illustrated Book
of Myths: Tales and Legends of the World. New
This is one of my favorite books, especially for the incredible artwork!
It encompasses myths from all over the world, but groups them into sections that
have readable and understandable formats. For example it starts with various
Creations, then goes on to include sections such as "Gods and People",
"Gods and Animals", Fertility and Cultivation and ends with sections
like "Visions of the End" and "Gods and Pantheon." This book
would be great for reference because of the organized format of the sections.
The only minor flaw is that it seems to have left out some of the more violent
facts, but it is not clear if this is because of the average age group
presumably expected to read it, or to just make it more interesting. The author
does seem to stick to the facts, however, so this book appears to be good
reference material.
Philip, Neil. DK Annotated Guides:
Myths and Legends. New York: DK Publishing,
This is a beautifully done book that, although the immediate focus is on
the artwork, does not leave out facts for the sake of its readers. The book's
128 pages has myths and heroes from all over the world, but devotes the largest
section to Greece an Rome. The book uses real artwork from various periods of
history including paintings, sculptures and other objects such as vases to show
the historical relationship to the actual people (in legend) it is discussing.
This book gets the highest rating for me as a reference point for all age groups
who are interested in seeing mythology in a beautiful if not somewhat brief
format.
Burleigh,
Robert. Hercules.
NY: Harcourt Brace &
Co., 1999.
This
is a picture reader book that is full of illustrations for the young child.
It provides a factual list of characters and places but is a story about
Hercules. It is a very watered down
version of the twelve labors that focuses mainly on the last labor.
This book is a good starting place for children just learning to read.
Low,
Alice. The Macmillan Book of
Greek Gods and Heroes. NY:
This
is a great reference dealing with Mt. Olympus and all of the gods and goddesses.
It chronicles the creation, births, and deaths of many of the major
players in Greek mythology. It does focus on Hercules on pages 93-109 but deals
only with his crime and the labors. It
does not deal with the birth or death of Hercules but it serves as an excellent
starting place for learning about Greek mythology.
This book is aimed at a slightly older child who is a fairly comfortable