The Odyssey

by Geraldine McCaughrean

After ten years of war, Odysseus turns his back on Troy and sets sail for home. But his voyage takes another ten years and he must face many dangers -- including Polyphemus the greedy one-eyed giant, Scylla the six-headed sea monster and even the wrath of the gods themselves -- before he is reunited with his wife and son.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Mythology, Ancient History, Childrens, Greek Mythology, Fantasy

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Geraldine McCaughrean is a British children's novelist. She has written more than 170 books, including Peter Pan in Scarlet (2004), the official sequel to Peter Pan commissioned by Great Ormond Street Hospital, the holder of Peter Pan's copyright. Her work has been translated into 44 languages worldwide. She has received the Carnegie Medal twice and the Michael L. Printz Award among others.

Reviews

[ellie જ⁀➴ · Rating 2 out of 5]

ehh wasn't my favorite, the cover is stunning, but no, idk maybe i just need to pay attention more...


aside from that, at least i got another book read, yuhhhhh 😀

[Daniyal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ordered this under the pretense of "The Odyssey by Homier" and instead got "Odyssey Retold". Still an interesting read, if you want to read the original this is not an exact thing, it cuts out a lot of the scenes, I've read the original from beginning and this one starts from way off and tells more about Odysseus from the very beginning whereas the original begins focused on Odysseus' son Telemachus and his Wife Penelope and their struggles.

[Meera A.S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very light and fun-to-read edition of The Odyssey!
It felt good to read through the adventures of Odysseus and revisit these events and characters again.

Highly recommended for those who are on the go, and want to enjoy a short Mythology story.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read aloud with our boys (10 and 7) and we all absolutely loved this rendition of Odysseus's adventures in getting home to Ithaca and Penelope. Beautiful language and approachable characters.

[Elyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction/overview of The Odyssey with some really good prose! I fear I will be wanting to read the original.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a beautiful adaptation; I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

[Serene · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good, but it was a 5th grade version and I definitely could’ve read a longer version.

[elena dahae · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.8/5 stars

Not my favourite book, and it wasn't a bad one.

But I wanted to read it, which is worth reading. It definitely gives adventure and historical vibes all in one. Also, I don't know what other things to say.

[Namratha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simplified, easy-on-the-senses retelling of "The Odyssey". The original is tucked away somewhere at the back of my book-shelf. It had me quaking in my boots.This, I get....and enjoy.

My interest was actually piqued by the **Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. Constant references to Odysseus's epic trip had me curious about the original.

Odysseus, the brave (although, slightly pompous) warrior is sailing back home after the epic battle of Troy. A lovely wife,Penelope and Telemachus, a son he hasn't seen in eleven years await him in his kingdom of Ithaca.

As he sets sail with his fleet of ships, he encounters mythical creatures, love-struck nymphs, grumpy cyclopses, the odd cannibal or two and a couple of other seriously depraved characters. Adding to his woes are the fury of the sea-god Poseidon.....a crew which doubts their captain....and a route that seems to have been put together by a sadistic travel-agent!

The end of the journey throws another nasty surprise : unruly suitors for the hand of Penelope and the riches of Ithaca.I tell you....a Greek Hero's work is never done!!

In all, an engaging read....lots of mayhem, chaos, and what-have-you.

**Reference :

[Natalie Ngodara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Odysseus has groupies

[Richard Angelus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many years ago, I try to finish reading Homer’s original English translations of Iliad and Odyssey (found 1 volume in the library), but I failed. Probably I wasn’t that interested in mythology before or my English wasn’t that good, or I thought it was a boring long poem. Maybe, all. But perhaps what I need was not to know the whole story behind the poem but a retold that keeps the essentials and yet fun to read (and that may include reading children’s books). That is exactly what McCaughrean did to Homer’s Odyssey.

Homer (presumably) was the first Greek writer whose works survive – perhaps the first Greek writer there was. In the Iliad, considered to be the earliest of the two, he wrote about the last few weeks of war between the Greeks and the Trojans, the imminent death of Achilles and the fall of Troy, the drama between mortal men and the gods. To read further my review, CLICK HERE: https://legasitv.blogspot.com/2020/09...

[Ethan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The introduction where the author shared their passion for the story made it sound like it was going to be a really exciting read but I just found the whole thing quite dull. Odysseus was mostly just irritating to me and I thought for a junior translation the language would be more engaging but I was left quite dissapointed.
I decided to read this, not beacuse Christopher Nolan has an adaptation on the way, but beause I recently rewatched O Brother Where Art Thou and was feeling curious to see how much of a connection there is between the film and the supposed inspiration. I'm still not entirely sure but the film was a lot more fun than this was. I can definitely see George Clooney's character in Odysseus though.

[Megan Blase · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this puffin classics edition of the odyssey, per Devin’s suggestion, to prepare myself for eventually reading Homer’s real works. Overall, this was a fun, easy read, I was surprised at how many greek myths I remembered from my Percy Jackson youth days. Like I remember in Percy Jackson the cyclops and the story of how Odysseus blinded the cyclops, posiden cursing Odysseus, sea nymphs, the sirens, riding underneath the sheep, men turning into pigs, I remember reading all about these myths in Percy Jackson. Gotta hand it to Rick rioridan, he made a generation of children super invested in Greek mythology by making them accessible; too bad he’s a Zionist though :/

[paperbackfruit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually really enjoyed this retold version. Many of the laughable and shocking parts are still there. However, since it isn’t the original version, many nuances and details are lost.

I wanted to see more of Athena and Penelope and Telemachus. I wanted to see more of the themes presented in the original version. But this retold version is great for younger readers to understand the odyssey.

I especially loved the ending! Ahhhh. I squeal every time I read it!

Still, the original one is still the best :)

[Defne Ayaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy mythology and this version of Odysseus’ and his crew’s adventures were told in a light language. That was really good of this book because you can understand easily and you don’t need to put much effort to read it. Even though it was easy to read, I sometimes needed a harder language to enjoy it better. I was sometimes bored but in the end, it was a great book. I would like to read the original version of the book some day.

[Kevin Norton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just re-reading this before tackling ‘The Iliad’ in its entirety. They are completely different stories of course, I just wanted to remind myself of ‘The Odyssey’ and the world of Ancient Greece before returning to Homer.

My plan is to read The zooids and then turn to ‘Circe’ and ‘The Silence of the Girls’. This was a nice introduction to Odysseus’s journey - staying faithful to Honer’s original.

[James Horsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a retelling of the Odyssey that is easy to follow and would be suitable for teens to help them access a classic text.

This retelling by Geraldine McCaughrean covers all the key moments and plot lines from the original text and describes encounters with the lotus eaters, Circe and the Charibdis in a simple yet effective style.

For anyone who is unfamiliar with Greek mythology or the story of Odysseus this is a great starting place.

[JAEYVE · Rating 5 out of 5]

“What use would it be to row if we had forgotten where we were going?”

I liked it, how in the end, Odysseus had to prove he was indeed who he says he was. Like, after so many years at war and sea! It was nice.

I am fascinated by the concept of the River Ocean. I shall explore it further more.

I should like to read the original version of Odyssey some time in the future.
I would like to visit the three islands of Odysseus’ kingdom. Maybe go on holiday there and read some Greek tales?

[chestercopperpot_reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this as a Christmas present for a kiddo whose gaining interest in Greek Mythology and figured I should read it just to make sure it was appropriate. Turns out, I quite enjoyed it myself. A good read if you're looking for something short and don't want to embark on the original lengthy classic.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a nice adapted version of the story. Of course, because it is written in easy-to-understand language, the poetry is sacrificed but I thought the prose was appropriately eloquent. I will feel confident giving this to my struggling high school readers, knowing that there isn't any kind of label on the book that will make them feel babied.

[Donald · Rating 3 out of 5]

“But there was no escape. An hour later the room fell silent. Every suitor lay dead.”

Now that’s what I call a homecoming! Father and son clearing house!

A good story, and more depth than the graphic novel version I had read. Odysseus sure is one tough son-of-a-gun, though his mouth could use a little work! Now I've gotta work up to the "real" version!

[Guille Medina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Odysseus, the hero of Troy prepares to go back home but a cyclops stole his food so Odysseus stabbed him in the eye. That Cyclops was the son of Poseidon and cursed Odysseus. He tried to go back home and went on a lot of adventures including giants cannibals mermaids nymphs and Greek gods Odysseus comes back to Ithaca and lives with his wife happily ever after.

[Ashley Siegel · Rating 3 out of 5]

We checked this our for a read aloud for an elementary level introduction to the Odyssey. We had already watched the movie, which I think made it a little easier to follow. It wasn't *perfect* for what I wanted it for, but it was ok. It got the job done. I'm still looking for a more child-friendly version - recommendations appreciated!

[✩ maggs ✩ · Rating 3 out of 5]

i really should be able to tag this 4 times for reading and teaching it to 4 freshmen classes this spring,,, but alas,, it counts as one book having been read :,(

it was an okay adaptation of the odyssey and honestly my first time getting through the entire story. i don't like how it cuts out parts so i will be reading/investigating the full story soon!

[Kenneth Clayton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent retelling! My 6 year old daughter loved it and 4 year old would listen while running around. Would also be a good introduction to the story for an adult before they dove into Homers Odyssey.

[Hannah Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this with my middle schoolers and it was perfect for their level of reading. Easy to understand language, lots of fun, and organized really well for discussion. Now their final writing prompt is to rewrite one of the episodes! Puffin Classics are honestly the best.

[I READ EVERYTHING · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! I read it because of 'Percy Jackson & the Olympians: Sea of Monsters, and because of the musical 'EPIC', both of which are based on 'The Odyssey.' The style of writing was a little hard to understand, but it was overall great. 👍

[Tilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️
-> nice introduction to The Odyssey
-> told in a good way and easy to understand and get through
-> only a simplified version so 105 pages
-> can’t rate too highly as it is very short and aimed at a younger audience

[Ben Roper · Rating 3 out of 5]

You gotta feel for the guy, one stroke of bad luck after another. His luck for consistently running into ghosts, ghouls and other-worldly monsters at every destination is rivalled only by The Scooby Doo Gang.

[Forreste · Rating 2 out of 5]

This retelling covers the gist of the original tale.