tammyw Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 Both my kids (age 7 and 10) have been reading The Stickman Odyssey (http://www.amazon.com/Stickman-Odyssey-Book-Epic-Doodle/dp/0399254269/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370883220&sr=8-1&keywords=stickman+odyssey) books 1 and 2. They love them. I thought this would be a good way to branch out into a more advanced version of The Odyssey. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeschoolingHearts&Minds Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 Mary Pope Osborne's Tales from the Odyssey is good (it's a series of 6 books). My husband says it follows Lattimer's translation pretty closely, cleaned up for kid consumption, of course. Here's the link to book 1: http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Odyssey-Part-Mary-Osborne/dp/1423128648/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370883710&sr=8-1&keywords=tales+from+the+odyssey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 Rosemary Sutcliff or Padraic Colum as read-aloud. Maybe Mary Pope Osborne's retelling. It's surprisingly faithful to the spirit of the original. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 Alfred Church's The Odyssey for Boys and Girls is free from both the Baldwin Project and Google Books. He has a shorter version ("The Adventures of Ulysses") in Stories of the Old World, also free on Google Books. Padraic Colum's The Adventures of Odysseus is very good, and once again, free on Google Books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 Rosemary Sutcliff or Padraic Colum as read-aloud. Maybe Mary Pope Osborne's retelling. It's surprisingly faithful to the spirit of the original. :) Yes! Rosemary Sutcliffe's Black Ships Before Troy and The Wanderings of Odysseus. (These exact versions, not the smaller books.) Stunningly illustrated, heirloom quality books. You'll save these for your grandkids. :D My kids did also enjoy Mary Pope Osborne's version on audio. The writing and narration are fantastic. These are on a whole 'nother level from the Magic Tree House. :tongue_smilie: Incidentally, Safari (and maybe Papo and Schleich...can't remember) make some pretty fantastic figures from Greek mythology. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momma2Luke Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 My kids did also enjoy Mary Pope Osborne's version on audio. The writing and narration are fantastic. These are on a whole 'nother level from the Magic Tree House. :tongue_smilie: Thoroughly agree... the Mary Pope Osborne's audio version is amazing! My son was riveted... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted June 10, 2013 Author Share Posted June 10, 2013 Oh my gosh, you guys are awesome (no big surprise there!) You also reminded me of a CD I'd bought a while back and had completely forgotten. This - has anyone used it also? http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Odysseus-Classic-Literature-Classical/dp/9626341149/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370888113&sr=1-5&keywords=the+adventures+of+odysseus Now I have some great options to explore. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 Both my kids (age 7 and 10) have been reading The Stickman Odyssey (http://www.amazon.co...tickman odyssey) books 1 and 2. They love them. I thought this would be a good way to branch out into a more advanced version of The Odyssey. Any suggestions? Mary Pope Osborne's version is ideal for ages 7 and 10. The Sutcliffe, Church, and Colum versions are geared for more about ages 10-14. To help keep all those Greek gods straight who show up in The Iliad and The Odyssey, you might like Aliki's Gods and Goddesses of Olympus. And don't forget to have fun with Marcia Williams "comicstrip" version of The Iliad and The Odyssey -- my DSs LOVED this when they were about 7-9yo! Humor really makes the details stick. ;) Your DC might also enjoy Marcia Williams' version of the Greek Myths, and Osborne's Favorite Greek Myths. And of course, be sure to watch the wonderful 4 Greek myths from Jim Hensen's The Storyteller (1997, TV), and the wonderful Jason and the Argonauts (1963) (best fighting skeletons EVER! :D) And -- maybe preview for your 7yo -- but this version of The Odyssey (1997) was quite enjoyable. Enjoy! Warmest regards, Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 Stickman Odyssey is a fun read, but the author is not very faithful to the original Homer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted June 10, 2013 Author Share Posted June 10, 2013 Stickman Odyssey is a fun read, but the author is not very faithful to the original Homer. Of course :) But it is a fun way to get them interested in the subject. I find my kids get interested in something more easily that way. For example, we watched Thor (the movie) and now they are way more interested in Norse Mythology, which is a pretty cool thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chloe Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 I just finished reading The Adventures of Odysseus by Hugh Lupton to my 10yo and 6yo. They really enjoyed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 Mary Pope Osborne's version is ideal for ages 7 and 10. The Sutcliffe, Church, and Colum versions are geared for more about ages 10-14. I agree with this. I almost said something similar myself but couldn't bring myself to do it because it would make me a hypocrite. :lol: My DS10 loved these books so much last year that he wanted to do them again as a family read aloud. He was convinced that his dad, brother, and sister would love the books as much as he did. So we are rereading them now, with DD and DS7 listening in. (DS7 in particular loves the illustrations.) They are riveted. I was worried the gory details would be too much but they like them and don't appear traumatized. I would call them "advanced listeners" though. They have been listening to read alouds above their level for years. So, OP, if your 7 year old can hang with more complex sentence structure and vocabulary and is OK with some pretty gory details, Sutcliffe might be OK. I will say too that the Osborne version is not completely innocuous. I cringe every time I hear about the Cyclops dashing men's heads against the rocks and then eating them whole. Also not for the faint of heart. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahW Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 Mary Pope Osborne's version is ideal for ages 7 and 10. The Sutcliffe, Church, and Colum versions are geared for more about ages 10-14. :confused1: By Sutcliffe do you mean the illustrated or non-illustrated version? I think with the illustrations (Alan Lee :drool: ) younger kids could get into it more. The Osborne books lack the same visual appeal, and seem to be best for self-reading for olders. And the Osborne book(s) are longer, yes? It's hard to compare the 3(?) volumes/books with Sutcliffe, but I have book 1 and it seems much more in-depth than Sutcliffe's version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 I agree with this. I almost said something similar myself but couldn't bring myself to do it because it would make me a hypocrite. :lol: LOL! Well, then I'm a hypocrite, :lol: because we DID do the (illustrated) Black Ships Before Troy by Sutcliffe when DSs were 7yo and almost 9yo. (Osborne's books had not been written yet at that time.) Older DS loved Black Ships -- but he loves the ancients; at that time younger DS (just turned 7yo) tolerated the Sutcliffe, but I think it was mostly in-one-ear-out-the-other -- even the illustrations weren't enough to hold his interest with the Sutcliffe version. So, that's why I say, save Sutcliffe for older -- 10yo, maybe not even till 12yo if they're not really into the ancients. JMO! :) However, I will say again that both DSs LOVED the Marcia Williams comicstrip-style version, which, while obviously highly abridged, DOES stick to the events written by Homer. :) And yes, it did "prime the pump" for them, as later on they both thoroughly enjoyed the full Fagles translation of both The Iliad and The Odyssey when they were grades 8 and 9 and we were doing ancients again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 :confused1: By Sutcliffe do you mean the illustrated or non-illustrated version? I think with the illustrations (Alan Lee :drool: ) younger kids could get into it more. The Osborne books lack the same visual appeal, and seem to be best for self-reading for olders. And the Osborne book(s) are longer, yes? It's hard to compare the 3(?) volumes/books with Sutcliffe, but I have book 1 and it seems much more in-depth than Sutcliffe's version. The Osborne volumes are easier reads than the two Sutcliffe books. Very, very good, but easier. I agree that the illustrated editions of the Sutcliffe books are musts, definitely appealing to younger kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NittanyJen Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 We read The Children's Homer (Colum) as a read-aloud when the kids were 7 and just-turned 10, and it was a megahit here-- they were hooked. My younger is going to be 10 and starting logic stage ancients this fall . . . maybe we'll try MPO's version of the story this time around? But done as a family read, Colum's version is wonderful, and a 10YO should have no trouble following it-- my 7YO did it (and -- giggle-- I had just pulled him out of school, where they had informed me the week before that I should never expect him to comprehend what he reads at much beyond a preschool level. Should I mention he still sees even hidden references to the Iliad and Odyssey in movies and books and points them out, almost three years later now? Poor school. They lost all those good test grades . . . ). Jen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UrbanSue Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 Just fyi, if you buy used on Amazon, like I do. The hardcover Osborne books were/are available as six separate volumes. The paperback editions just have two volumes, each containing three of the originals. The text is all the same but it's not really clear when you are purchasing. The titles are all different, too. The paperbacks are just "Tales from the Odyssey" parts 1 and 2. The individual hardbacks are "The One-Eyed Giant" or "The Final Battle". (Sorry my computer doesn't like italics here). I hate Magic Treehouse and think these Odyssey stories are really well-done and my kids (the 4-8 yos) all love them. We're looking forward to revisiting the story with Sutcliffe in a few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted June 11, 2013 Author Share Posted June 11, 2013 Just fyi, if you buy used on Amazon, like I do. The hardcover Osborne books were/are available as six separate volumes. The paperback editions just have two volumes, each containing three of the originals. The text is all the same but it's not really clear when you are purchasing. The titles are all different, too. The paperbacks are just "Tales from the Odyssey" parts 1 and 2. The individual hardbacks are "The One-Eyed Giant" or "The Final Battle". (Sorry my computer doesn't like italics here). I hate Magic Treehouse and think these Odyssey stories are really well-done and my kids (the 4-8 yos) all love them. We're looking forward to revisiting the story with Sutcliffe in a few years. Thanks. I did notice that there were only two and finally figured out they each had three! I get confused easily, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsmm Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 I'm so excited to find out about the Mary Pope Osbourne books/ cds. My kids will be thrilled! I borrowed a version of the Odyssey read by Odds Bodkin recently, and it was too advanced for my two (age 5.5 and 7). They really like Benedict Flynn's Kind Arthur stories, and they love myths, but it was too wordy and confusing for them. They will be happy to hear about the MPO version. I'd be curious to hear how people like the Flynn Odyssey, since we all enjoyed his Knights of the Round Table cd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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