Apollo and the Battle of the Birds

Heroes in Training #6

by Joan Holub, Suzanne Williams

When a flock of angry birds threaten Zeus and his fellow Olympians, they need the help of a new friend—assuming the stranger is actually a friend!

After a horrible drought, Zeus and his fellow Olympians are determined to help restore the land as they try to figure out their current mission, to find a special shield called an aegis. Thanks to some grateful villagers, who benefit from the rain and crops that the young Olympians magically create, they find the armor they need.

But they are suddenly swarmed by birds—thousands of killer, scary birds. And when a mysterious boy appears in the chaos, it looks like he might be more connected to the Olympians than they think. Is he friend…or foe?

Genres: Mythology, Middle Grade, Fantasy, Childrens, Fiction, Magic, Humor

128 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2014

About the author

NY Times bestselling children's book author:
GODDESS GIRLS series + HEROES IN TRAINING series (w Suzanne Williams); THIS LITTLE TRAILBLAZER a Girl Power Primer; ZERO THE HERO; I AM THE SHARK. Lucky to be doing what I love!

Reviews

[Amanda Kendall · Rating 3 out of 5]

We enjoyed this one, but noticed a lot of mistakes in print. One passage said “Athena said” but she’s not in this book and another says they looked back to the Olympian’s house, meaning the Titan’s house. Understandable but sloppy editing that led to some confusion

[Amanda Racanelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading the series with Leo! He loves them all!

[Jane Love · Rating 5 out of 5]

They go in a forest looking for a shield and find Ares

[Natali]

I read these to my son. You can finish them in 3-4 bed times. He was about 4-5 at the time and liked them.

[Eloise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second time I’ve read this book and I love it but it has a lot of errors in the texts but overall it’s great.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read although I did have to slow down to keep the characters straight. I'm not up on my Greek mythology, so I was wondering what parts are true to the traditional myths and where the author took literary license.
The humor and action will appeal to youngsters, and the black and white, bold lines of the illustrations are in the contemporary, graphic novel style.
Apparently #7 will continue the story - I've only read this episode, so I can't comment on how it connects. I hope #7 does pick up the thread, as I was left wondering how the shield gets used, and if & how they escape from the Cronies.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book of this series I have read. It is a good beginning chapter book for the kids who want to read Rick Riordan but aren't quite ready. It is a short adventure story with lots of action and interesting characters. In this book, the Olympians are headed off to fight for the aegis (a shield). The meet Ares along the way and invite him to join their group. Nice introduction to Greek mythology and a fun story.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

i like this book because the young gods fight a lot

[Lorraine Der]

Library Catalog

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

It won't let me read it.

[The Brothers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Asher (8yo) read.

[Kaytee · Rating 5 out of 5]

i thought that making things out of metal was really cool like the birds and lion and the gold dog this is the best book so far in the series.