caffeineandbooks Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 I want to read a novelisation of The Odyssey with 6th to 8th graders. Something we can get our teeth into, but not quite a formal translation. I am aware of, but don't know how to choose between, the following: - Rosemary Sutcliff's The Wanderings of Odysseus - Geraldine McCaughrean's The Odyssey - Gillian Cross' The Odyssey - Robin Lister's Homer's Odyssey Please tell me your most loved (or most hated!) version and why! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 We read both Sutcliff and McCaughrean. I don’t remember having a strong preference. Ds liked the former bc of Alan Lee’s artwork. We had a lot of other McCaughrean retellings, so I may have leaned to the other for variety? I don’t know the other two on your list, but we also have Padraic Colum’s The Children’s Homer. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 Instead of narrowing your list, I'll add to it 😉 Alfred Church did prose retellings of The Odyssey, The Iliad, and The Aeneid. We only read that last one (as we did the Fagles full translations of the first two). It is a bit longer/meatier with slightly older sentence structure/vocabulary (as Church was writing in the late 1800s). How strong in reading are the 6th graders? They may like something that "feels" and "sounds" a bit older. Or, they might find it more dry and prefer something easier/more contemporary, such as the McCaughrean version, or that has great illustrations such as the Sutcliff or the Cross versions... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 We used Church’s Aeneid. There are fewer options for it than for Homer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 (edited) Okay, circling back around again... It will depend on the level of reading/listening and maturity, as well as level of interest in ancient epics, of the specific grade 6-8 students you are talking about. If you can compare samples of each, that might better help you know what will best fit the students before you. Even better, do that comparison of versions with your students, so they can get excited about how different versions bring out different aspects. 😉 But in the meanwhile, here are some quick comments in case it helps: - Robin Lister's Homer's Odyssey = for grades 3-7 Illustrated. For elementary ages. A very light, fast, easy intro into the basic storyline and some of the adventures. - Gillian Cross' The Odyssey = for grades 4-7, Almost graphic novel-like with many very striking/highly stylized illustrations. Written in plain/modern "voice" easily accessible for elementary ages, so another light, fast, easy intro into the basic storyline/adventures. - Geraldine McCaughrean's The Odyssey = for grades 5-8 Written in a very understandable way but still retaining some poetic elements; a late elementary/early middle school light introduction to the epic. - Alfred Church's The Odyssey for Boys and Girls = for grades 5-8 No illustrations. Direct and to-the-point summary retelling of the story, no poetry to the language; very understandable intro to the epic. - Rosemary Sutcliff's The Wanderings of Odysseus = for grades 6-9 Beautiful illustrations. Abridged retelling, but definitely more poetic in the retelling; a solid middle school level introduction to the epic, as well as retaining faint echoes of the ancient language devices of epic poetry. - Padraic Collum's The Children's Homer = for grades 6-9 No illustrations. More detailed retelling, older language/vocabulary, so more of a challenge/good for more advanced readers, but may also be off-putting or dry for those middle schoolers not "into" older language or the classics. - Samuel Butler's The Odyssey = for grades 7-10 No illustrations. Detailed prose retelling; story is reordered into chronological order of events; more attempts to echo the ancient epic poetry structure; if wanting to "wrestle" more with the work, this might work -- on the other hand, this is such a close step to something like Fagles' full translation in poetic structure, that if doing the work with late middle school/early high school with students who are interested in the classics, I'd just go straight for a translation of the original... 😉 Edited July 13 by Lori D. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 Sutcliff! ❤️ Spring for the illustrated versions. They're gorgeous and so well written. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostintheCosmos Posted July 14 Share Posted July 14 I know you said not a formal translation BUT Emily Wilson's recent translation is quite accessible and just as readable, I think, as some of the retellings. My husband did the whole thing as a bedtime read aloud with a wide age range. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xahm Posted July 14 Share Posted July 14 Collum's The Children's Homer was a surprise hit here. We had tried it before when the oldest was around seven and it flopped badly, but this time the 10 and 11 year old really liked it, the 7 year old liked it, and the 5 year old fell asleep very soundly every evening when I was reading. We definitely expanded vocabularies with this book. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Keeper Posted July 14 Share Posted July 14 A big "yes!" to all of the above. 😉 We have loved Sutcliff & Alan Lee's version very much. Everyone has it scheduled as part of 7th/8th grade at my house. Church's Aeneid is also on that list. My wordy ones have very much connected with Collum's The Children's Homer. That is a fun read for those who want it. For the Odyssey, Wilson's translation (she has also done the Iliad) and/or Fagle's translation have become the high school standards for my crew. We do a re-read of the Sutcliff versions, take a few days to do more historical background, and then dive in. Some of my less than enthusiastic students have used the summaries at Shmoop alongside to bridge the gap. https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/odyssey/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted July 14 Share Posted July 14 For a translation, I prefer Lattimore when reading Homer. I enjoy Dan Stevens’ reading of the Fitzgerald translation. Good audiobooks! Have yet to find as good a reader doing Virgil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caffeineandbooks Posted July 15 Author Share Posted July 15 Amazon reviews are good, but the Hive is always better 🙂 Thank you to all who chimed in! @Lori D. thank you for "grading" the books for me. That was super helpful. And I love that you widened the field to some I hadn't thought of! @SilverMoon and @ScoutTN, I decided to take your recommendations and go with the illustrated Sutcliff. I even found a secondhand copy for cheap and it's gorgeous! @Xahm I also found The Children's Homer free on Audible Plus, so I'll point the kids toward that as optional bedtime reading. Thank you for the plug. @Zoo Keeper and @LostintheCosmos, I have the Norton Critical edition of Wilson's translation on my shelf. I don't think reading the whole thing with these kids will fly, but you've encouraged me to aim for selections at least. Feeling good about this! I hope they all love it. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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