Independent Reading Level: Grades 3-6
Awards: A New York Times Best Seller

IL: 4-8
BL: 4.3

O'Connor does a great job retelling the Greek myths and legends in a graphic novel format. The artwork is excellent and the stories really capture the spirit of Greek gods and goddesses. He makes them human and believeable. Also included is a 'family tree' of the gods and goddesses, Author's notes, brief bios and descriptions of the main characters introduced in each book, G'r'eek notes listing each page and which gods or goddesses appear there and their history, a list of questions for discussion and a bibliography for further reading. Oh, and modesty reigns throughout. Even little Eros wears a loincloth. :)

Apparently I am late to the party with these - I have never seen these graphic novels nor have I heard of this author before now, and I am sad about that, but so happy that I have found these now. I received Aphrodite from my pen pal (yes, I have a real pen pal - she is awesome and I love writing to her). She shared with me that she is just starting to read graphic novels and really is enjoying these - and I completely agree with her.

This isn't your normal graphic novel, but only in that you are getting a lesson on Greek mythology while reading it versus just reading a story. I like that and think that these would be a creative way to teach about Greek Mythology as well.

The images were wonderful and the lesson/tale was great and I learned a few things that I did not know already - so I would call that a win. If you like variety in your graphic novels I suggest this one (I have not read the series yet but I can only assume they are good too), or if you want to learn some mythology it would be great for that too.
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I liked this volume of the series quite a bit. I thought Aphrodite was beautiful and I liked the myths that the author chose for her. I've never heard such a thorough version of her creation myth before. As usual there are amazing notes and a strong bibliography. Love this series. ( )