Strong Stuff: Herakles and His Labors

by John Harris, Gary Baseman (Illustrator)

Herakles was one of the greatest of all Greek heroes, and his exploits have been celebrated in paintings, songs, poetry, and sculpture for thousands of years. Now it's time for him to have his own children's book, one devoted exclusively to his labors and adventures.
Written by John Harris and illustrated by artist Gary Baseman, Strong Stuff tells the amazing stories of the Stymphalian Birds (defeated by crashing cymbals), creepy King Geryon (with three heads AND three bodies), the Augean Stables (don't ask), and nine other labors that Herakles performed. This is a one-of-a-kind account of the great mythological hero in action.

Stong stuff!

With a super-helpful map and a pronunciation guide for those sometimes-hard-to-pronounce classical names.

Genres: Picture Books, Mythology

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2005

About the author

John^^^^^^^^Harris

John Harris has written a number of books for children, including, most recently, My Monster Notebook. Of A Giraffe Goes To Paris (co-written with Mary Tavener Holmes), Publishers Weekly said, "This is history for children the way it ought to be written." He lives in California.

Reviews

[Amanda Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun way to present Heracles and his labors - if you can get past the part where he murders his wife and kids and then goes on all these gory adventures. Reading mythology to a kid is awkward, but somehow necessary. My son hesitated to read it because he argued that there was blood in it and I refuse to let him play video games with blood (his words - I think I said "no killing people"). But I want him to hear a variety of myths because it informs your perspective. He loves monsters and Theseus and the Minotaur are currently his favorite. I thought he would like Heracles and the Hydra. He thought it was okay.

[Mouse · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun little book, especially for a 7 year old that loves myths and Hercules more than any other story. I thought the interpretation was a little out there and maybe needlessly comic. The illustrations were fun and silly.

[Fabio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun rendition of the twelve labors.

[StrictlySequential · Rating 3 out of 5]

Get this for the art (UNBEATABLE!) and the pronunciation guide that will humble you for the better!

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny presentation of the labors of Herakles, illustrated by the same guy that did the Teacher's Pet animated series and the design of the game Cranium.

[Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit over the top in terms of wackiness and the juvenille illustrations don't help. I'm all for comic interpretations of myths and legends, but this one doesn't quite work.

[Tami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fan. Tastic. Extremely well done. Easy to understand text and fantastic illustrations reminiscent of artist Red Grooms. Great resource for home or classroom!