Thursday, February 9, 2012

O’Connor, George Hera: the Goddess and Her Glory


O’Connor, George  Hera: the Goddess and Her Glory     
 First Second (Macmillan)      2011  77p   9.99  978-1-59643-433-2       
ms/hs VG-BN Graphic-non-fiction     
  This is the story of Hera, the goddess of air, the sky, and the heavens. Her husband, Zeus, well and truly fears her wrath. The story is told in graphic format. This is a beautifully illustrated and written book on one of the Greek myths. The book effectively characterizes Hera as a vindictive goddess who wrecks havoc and gets her way in most things. However, Zeus was known for his philandering with human maidens. Hera then exacted vengeance. Hercules’ trials were featured in the graphic novel.
     The format of the book was balanced and well paced in it’s story line and panel placement. The subdued colors portray the seriousness of the trials Hercules had to undertake.
     In a school library the book had several additions that make it very useful for research.
The author notes contained the author’s thoughts and feelings about the goddess, Hera. The notes section effectively documented the research and creditability of the book’s information. The discussion’s page included several questions the teacher or individual reader could use to more effectively understand the information in the graphic novel.
The bibliography presents additional materials that could be obtained by the reader. Lastly, feature pages for Hera, Hercules, and the Hydra provide condensed information on the individuals.
Mythology   Linda McNeil

 

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