The Adventures of Achilles

Gr 6-8–While many kids might be familiar with the gods and heroes featured in the Iliad, they may not know how these characters relate to one another and, indeed, how the story actually plays out. To remedy that, two noted storytellers pair with an award-winning illustrator to adapt the story into 12 beautifully designed chapters and an epilogue. The focus is on the legendary warrior Achilles, beginning with his birth and childhood, his entry into the Trojan War, and his life as a soldier. Some chapters expertly cut away to introduce other players, like Paris and Helen, or Hector and Priam, and show how the machinations of the gods affect the story. Throughout, the writing style easily switches between florid prose and functional plot-driven narrative to capture the mood of the adventure at hand while making sure kids can follow what is happening and why. While the storytelling is simplified when necessary, the content is anything but: details of the violence of the Trojan War, as well as the sexual escapades of the gods are included, and underlying themes of the story, like the role of fate and luck, are presented again and again. Each chapter is heavily illustrated, giving at least a quarter of each page to dreamlike images that reinforce the mythological feel of the story. The images focus on characters depicted against scenes of nature, home, or war, all using acrylics to mimic the look of ancient Greek and Roman art, with rounded shapes, swirls, and muted colors that somehow brighten the page. A good choice for libraries where the epics and myths of ancient Greece are popular.–Heather Talty, formerly at Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School, New York City