Greek Mythology

Call me Hades. 

My full name - His Royal Lowness, Lord of the Dead, King Hades - is a bit of a mouthful. 

I rule the Underworld. The ghosts of the dead travel down to dwell in my kingdom. If they were good in life, they get to go to an eternal rock concert, where really great bands play on and on forever. The ghosts of the not-so-good? They have to wander around, trying to memorize an endless list of really hard spelling words. And the ghosts of the wicked? You don't want to know.
(from Have a Hot Time, Hades! by Kate McMullan)

I bought the Myth-O-Mania series by Kate McMullan for the library recently and nearly all of them have been checked out by 5th grade students already. These books are similar to retold fairy tales, except that they're retold myths! Each book focuses on a different god, and the style of writing is just hilarious. I'm reading the Hades book right now, and I have to stop every so often just because I'm laughing so hard that my cheeks start to hurt! :D Students have been asking for more books like the Percy Jackson series (The Lightning Thief books) by Rick Riordan that are based on mythology, so I think this new series will be a hit.

Here are a couple of other Greek mythology books added to the library recently:

Treasury of Greek Mythology by Donna Jo Napoli, illustrated by Christina Balit (2011)

This book is gorgeous! It includes 25 Greek gods and goddesses, from the famous Athena to Poseidon to the lesser-known Hephaestus to Jason.

Each chapter focuses on a different figure, with full-page, full-color illustrations by Christina Balit and the story of the person written by Donna Jo Napoli, who is known for her retold fairy tales.

Below is an illustration of Gaia, Mother Earth.

Michael Townsend's Amazing Greek Myths of Wonder and Blunders (2010)

I just bought this book last year, but it's already seen countless circulations and has visited the Book Hospital twice - it is well-loved!

This is a collection of comics telling those beloved Greek myths. It starts like this:
"The book you are about to read contains nine bizarre and wacky tales that take place in a Greek-tastic myth-o-rific world!!!"

The comics style really appeals to students, and Townsend does a great job of explaining the stories in narration balloons.