Classic Myths to Read Aloud: The Great Stories of Greek and Roman Mythology, Specially Arranged for Children Five and Up by an Educational Expert

This is a marvelous book! I wanted my granddaughters to learn Greek and Roman myths since there are so many references to the stories and the characters in day-to-day media. If they knew more about the tales, I thought they could appreciate the references to them. I first looked at the book to find out if the girls would like it and get anything out of it. As it turned out, I read it from cover to cover, and couldn't put it down. I had never had school or college classes in these subjects and I was mesmerized. The plots are summarized at the beginning, which makes the stories easier to understand for people who have no knowledge at all of them. Also at the beginning of each myth is the amount of time it will take to read it -- making bedtime story reading more predictable. And, there is also a pronunciation guide for the names and some of the words, with brief explanations or definitions. The stories themselves are fascinating, easy to read aloud, print on the pages is clear and not too small, and chapters are of reasonable length to tell a tale and maintain interest. After the end of each, there are short descriptions of words we use in modern times which originated from these myths and the language and culture of ancient times. These can be eye-openers, and have given my granddaughters and I opportunities for many discussions! This was planned as a learning book. And, it's been a great teacher -- for the reader as well as the listeners!

I have alwyas been interested in mythology and thought it was not real easy to follow especially with each person/god having different names. I really enjoy reading it. The book has a listing of all names for both greek and roman. It is easy to read and understand and yes, good for kids but not so childish that adults would find it boring. It would be a good book to start with and keep on hand as a "reference" book if you read more of the Mythology stories. I am very happy to have bought this. I wish I would have had this in school - it really would have helped when we had started mythology in reading classes. Each story is a quick story but in the brief stories gives very good details as to who is who and how they are related and how they got their names or became the gods of who/what they are. It also gives input, topics and suggestions for discussion and how long it should take to read. Again - it is simplistic but informative for kids and adults in my opinion.

Everyone should read this book to their children. It educates and is great story telling. I have two boys, a 10, and a 12 year old. I never see them more in trance, like when they watch TV, than when I am reading aloud a story from this book. The book is written to read aloud. Each story is just short enough for one sitting. It's amazing how you can get so much in a short number of pages for a single story. Each story provides a nice introduction just before the start and a summary of how the story relates words used today. The only thing wrong is I need a follow-up and I have not found anything yet.

This is an excellent book. However, it is difficult for a five year old to appreciate these stories in absence of pictures. At this stage alot of what is read aloud is made via the connection to pictures. I have always been an avid reader, and in spite of being able to store more books electronically, one cannot underestimate the power of having a book in ones hand, the smell of the binding and the impact it has on ones ability to recall the story or the powerful memories that a certain page or pages may evoke. I have found this to be true with my son as well. His appreciation for a story is much more profound when we sit together reading from a book and he is able to pause and ask questions, touch the pictures and make an a connection to the story at hand. Additionally, it is equally as helpful to him as he learns bigger words to point to that word and while playing our spelling game being able to perfectly spell the word and use it in proper context. On an ipad, touching a word means something very different, when learning to read. I would also encourage him to read with the aid of a dictionary and try and sound out the word in order to find it and in so doing discovers new words along the way. In my opinion there is no substitute for having a book in ones hands, even though electronic books are available to my five year old, i oft find him in bed or in his closet passing his time happily reading the hard copies of books he owns in comparison to those he has electronically.

Love reading this to my 9 year old and she loves it to. I remember a lot of these tales from my childhood. Good compilation of stories.

Originally, I purchased this title to introduce my kindergartner to classic Greek and Roman myths. I also supplemented this book with Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology so that she would be able to view the colorful pictures (we are both visual learners). Then I found myself teaching Middle School and mythology is a topic that is covered in the syllabus. Some of my students could cope with the full-length myths and yet others struggled, so I turned to this book. The results were excellent to say the least. I introduced each myth to be covered via a powerpoint presentation or video streaming, followed by reading the myths aloud, and then we would do a review as a class, focusing on elements such as conflict, foreshadowing, inference, and themes such as heroism. The myths in this book are abridged versions but very well-written. Each story is prefaced with a short summary which introduces the main characters. An approximate reading time is provided for each myth, and there is a vocabulary and pronunciation guide which I've found most useful (especially when I find myself confused over the accuracy of my pronunciation). The stories are divided into two listening levels, ages 5 and up (Listening Level I) and ages 8 and up (Listening Level II).

This book is everything I hoped it would be, and more. I fell in love with the author before I even finished reading the introduction. After pre-reading the first story, I immediately went and ordered his other compilations, "Classics to Read Aloud" and "More Classics to Read Aloud" because I was just so impressed with this book. We have since read several myths and my fairly sensitive 5 year old is having no trouble with the content so far and is literally begging for more when we finish each story. Read aloud time is definitely our favorite time of day right now! If you want to introduce your children to Greek/Romance myths, this is definitely the book to start with.

Good but not so interesting.

Interesting enough for older kids, content-appropriate for younger kids. A good intro to Greek myths.

Great introduction to classic myths. Not overly simplified. It is a series of short stories essentially. Can't say my kids are entralled by the stories but I like reading them and I think it is important to read variety so I'm happy.

I really like this collection, it's been wonderful to have these texts to read aloud. Every child should hear these stories that are the foundation of our common Western culture. My only complaint is that there's no pictures! Ha ha ha... yes, I know it's supposed to be read-aloud, but I find the odd picture or illustration helpful with younger listeners.