Tales from the Odyssey, Part Two (The Gray-Eyed Goddess; Return to Ithaca, The Final Battle) by Mary Pope Osborne (Part Two of Two)

Great book for older elementary kids. The words are not too small to intimidate kids in reading it. There is a pronunciation guide in the back that we found helpful when trying to pronounce the Greek names. Arrived quickly and in perfect condition.

This is a great, easy to read version of the Odyssey. Mrs. Osborne has done a great job of making this wonderful tale available to the casual reader. I tell stories to school kids. When a student asked me to tell about Cyclops, I started looking for a usable source. I collected and rejected several volumes before finding Osborn's Part 1. After sharing the tales from Part 1, the kids were so engrossed that I had to buy Part 2 to continue the saga. It is written as well as Part 1. The kids and I look forward to the remaining parts of the complete story.I have been an avid reader for most of my 84 years. While I had been tempted by the good adventures I knew it contained, I had always found the available translations of the Odyssey more aggravation than pleasure to read. I wish I had found Osborne's work years ago. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to read the classic for pleasure.

I am a teacher who's class reading level ranges from 3th grade to 10th grade. I used this edition to teach a classic to students who would not have been able to understand a true translation. It omits many of the complicated Greek names and focuses on the core of the novel. It is user friendly and enjoyable. The students loved it. It was interesting enough to capture everyone's imagination, and still challenge my higher order thinkers. The lower level readers had success with limited teacher support. It was nice to be able to use a novel that all my students could read and access. Mary Pope Osborne is a consistently wonderful author.

My son, a second-grader, loves action. And he loves the two Tales from the Odyssey books by Mary Pope Osborne. While I feel a little thrilled as a literary-minded parent that he is getting an introduction to the classic tales of the Odyssey, he reads them because of the action. And that is fine by me.Both of the books in the series seem to follow the tales of the Odyssey pretty closely, but Osborne has rewritten it in an accessible format. The writing is straight-forward and clear. Each section is a good length for an independent reader. I'd guess the reading level is appropriate for anywhere from a first-grader to a fourth grader, depending on their reading level and/or interest in Greek myths. There are no pictures in these volumes (except for very small chapter heading illustrations). It is important to note that the font is larger than typical chapter books, making these 200 page books a quicker read than other 200 page books--this can be quite a confidence builder for a struggling or emerging reader.I haven't read them myself (besides the odd peek over his shoulder), but I can report that my son, who loves comics and has little interest in many chapter books, found these books hard to put down. And whether he is reading them as an introduction to tales that will resurface in many other books, or just for the action, I'm glad to have found a book that he enjoys.

I use this in my Reading Intervention classes, and my struggling readers in my World Civilizations class. It’s fast paced, broken into chunks and my kids really enjoy it.

I read Part 1 to my boys, ages 7 & 8, and they were begging to get Part 2 so we could finish the story. It is a wonderful and easy read. Mary Pope Osborne did a great job summarizing the story. Plus, we are big Magic Tree House fans. She gives the relevant facts with an intriguing story line and without the mundane details that bore kids.

I read this to my 7 year old boy. While complicated thematically and plot-wise, this was an accessible adaptation that be loved.

We LOVE this book. We found the first one in a neighborhood library box. My elementary age kids and I both enjoyed it so much we came to Amazon to purchase the next edition. It’s easy to read with great description for your child’s imagination. The author has done a nice job of summarizing the Odyssey for children. We love all the Mary Pope Osborne books!

What say more? Very well re-written classic story for younger readers. Coming to work at university in Canada I was shocked that people here do not know ancient classic literature even at university level, when I was taught of that in primary school. I'm very happy to find this "children" version of the famous book for my 7y old, as it seems I will need to teach him literature, history, geography of the world by myself and it's great help to give him more interest in the field.

This also applies to part 1. The books are fabulously written and published. My 10 years old does not like to read, and he absolutely loved this one: easy words, big font, pages fly and non-usual readers get the amazing satisfaction of see the pages flying by. I completely recommend this book: your kid will love it. For apprehensive people: please remember this is based on a classic Greek title, the story is the same one and it is not sweeten. People die, gods are cruel. Disney won't approve this one! As an additional bonus, it builds your bragging rights when people ask you which book your kids are reading, and you reply: oh, they are just reading The Odissey ;-)