2010, fluent reader, Key Stage 2, ages 9-11, upper primary
This is a simple retelling of Odysseus’s story. It is divided into neat chapters. Each chapter
is to a large extent an alone-standing story and the whole story overarches. Towards
the end, however, where Odysseus claims his home back, we have cliff-hangers at
the end of chapters.
Both Hugh Lipton and Daniel Morden are professional
story-tellers and indeed this text would really
come to life if it were read out loud. Nevertheless it is very readable by the fluent
reader and greatly enhanced by Christina Balit’s delightful illustrations.
It is important that young people become familiar with the
ancient myths. Much of our culture relates to them and this book allows the young
readers to access this story on their own.
It is a very pleasingly tangible book. It has a good weight
and glossy pages. It uses blocked text and a serif font with difficult ‘a’s and
‘g’s. It is 12 point and in this particular
font is rather small. However the text is double-spaced, which makes it a little
easier to read.
