Greek Myth Resources

[JuniperBCN]

My 5 yo has been dropping Usborne's Greek Myths in my lap several times a week for the last two years.... guess he really likes it!  However, I'm starting to groan when I see it again so am looking for ideas for new juice.  All the stuff I order in  English has to come from  abroad, so I'd like to choose well.  DS has a long attention span for listening, we aren't religious or conservative and he has a high tolerance for brutal, dastardly deeds and battles.  What's your best recommendation to expand?  We have D'Aulaire's Norse Myths which he also loves (and I am getting to the same point with that book too), don't know if their Greek Myths is the way to go?  Also if anyone wants to chime in with internet or screen resources they've enjoyed, I'd love it!

TIA!

[SweetSilver]

We are just reading books.  My 6.5yo daughter loves the hero and monster stories, and her love of monsters was what gave me the idea to bring home some Greek myths.  Right now we are reading (again) "Pegasus" by Marianna Mayer, which tells of Bellerophon, riding on Pegasus, and his battle with the Chimera.  We are reading "The Twelve Labors of Hercules" by James Riordan and illustrated by Christina Balit.  She illustrated our favorite astronomy books for children, by Jacqueline Mitton, "Zoo in the Sky", "Kingdom of the Sun" and others.  Not quite myths, but every page is filled with a short summary of the myth that accompanies each constellation or planet.

Perseus and Medusa stories (including a graphic novel of that name), is not too gory for kids like your son.  That myth is available in many books.  Theseus and the Minotaur is another classic one that I find many good books on.  Odysseus and the Cyclops is another favorite out of the Odyssey, which she found a little dull once we passed that story.

If he likes gore, and doesn't mind straying from Greek myths, I recommend the story of Beowulf.  I haven't found one that has truly fabulous illustrations, so I can't recommend any particular one yet.  You can wander into the realm of folktales.  DD enjoyed a book on Norwegian troll stories, I can't remember which but I'll get back to you on that one.  

We are slowly creeping into the Arthurian stories, Gawain and the Green Knight is what started it (monster, of course).  

And creeping further away from the Greek, but keeping in line with heros and monsters and battles is the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.  I read the Hobbit when dd was 5, and at 6 she convinced me to read her LOTR (she is so lucky I'm a Tolkien fan).  

There is a website that I've enjoyed, but I'll have to locate it again and get back to you.  

[SweetSilver]

The website was pantheon.org.  Not necessarily for kids, though, but I like the non-profit websites and this encyclopedia-like format.  Just google "greek myths" though and there are many websites aimed at kids.  Check them out!  I'll get to those, too....one day.

[2mama]

Mary Pope Osborne Wrote a kids version of the Odyssey that is separated out into 5 books.  It is really well written and takes a while to read.  He may get a kick out of it.  Other wise we like the Usborne Stories From Around the World book.  It is filled with folk tales from all over the world and has kept the interest of my kids aged 3-13.  Good Luck!

[Nursingnaturalmom]

we have stories from around the world and we really enjoy it!  It came with our sonlight P4/5 core, but my older kids like it as well.

Mary Pope Osbourne is a big hit here too

[SweetSilver]

We are just discovering Marcia Williams' books.  My daughter loves them.  We have her book on Greek myths and have her version of the Iliad and the Odyssey on an ILL.  Excellent.  (We are also enjoying her Tales from Shakespeare.)

[Fairy4tmama]

I am planning on reading  Tales of the Greek Heroes this winter with my kids. We read Tales of Ancient Egypt by the same author last spring and we all LOVED it. I haven't yet ordered Tales of Greek Heroes but I am excited about it and expect it will be the same high quality of Tales of Ancient Egypt.

[savithny]

My kids like D'Aulaire's Greek Myths (we have both Greek and Norse).

Another recommendation:  Rosemary Sutcliff (a British writer who did a lot of historical fiction for kids, including "The Eagle of the Ninth" and its related books, all of which I *highly* recommend for an older-than-5yo), did a really nice version of "The Illiad" ("Black Ships Before Troy") and "The Wanderings of Odysseus."

There's at least one edition of each of them that is fully illustrated by Alan Lee (the man responsible for much of the visual look and feel of the Lord of the Rings movies, after being a major illustrator of LOTR books and calendars). It looks like there's a set with different illustrations. 

They're a little more mature, despite the lavish illustrations, because they don't shy away from the inherent violence of the piece.

[onatightrope]

If he likes the Odyssey, and you are a board game playing family, he might like the board game Ulysses http://www.coolstuffinc.com/main_boardGame.php?viewType=view%20board%20games&fp=Acc-COATalesofUlysses

It's a game where your goal is to go from Troy to Ithaca, and as you go you have to draw event cards, most of which are things like "Beguilement by Circe" or "Battle Polyphemus", but a handful are helpful.  There are many opportunities to be shipwrecked.  It is a little like Candyland in that there's no strategy, it can go a very long time if you're unlucky, and there's no way to tell whose winning until they get very very close to the end.  But it does make the Odyssey come to life in a way-- Ulysses also had basically no control over what would happen to him on his journey--- and my 5 year old gets a kick out of getting to pretend to battle the same creatures that Ulysses did.  It's a complicated game, so an adult or older child who is reading will need to play too, to review a few of the less obvious rules (like once you escape Circe, you are cast into Hell, and travel to Ithaca from there).

[Mizelenius]

My DD read and loved this when she was 5-- the plus side is, then your son could read it on his own!

Cupid and Psyche

I'm not sure it would be worth it for you, however, since it's only 1 story and you are getting it from abroad.   Maybe not gory enough, either!