Hercules is the strongest man in the world, but one day he does something very bad. The priestess at Delphi tells him: 'The gods are angry with you. For twelve years you must work for King Eurystheus, and do twelve tasks for him. When you finish, the gods can forgive your crime.' Some tasks are easier, and some tasks are more difficult. Can Hercules finish all twelve of them? And what happens when he does?
Janet Hardy-Gould is a graded reader author whose books are hugely popular with teachers and students around the world. She has written a wide range of graded readers for Oxford University Press. These include Ellis Island: Rosalia's Story (Oxford Dominoes) which won the Extensive Reading Foundation (ERF) award in 2020 and Merlin (Oxford Dominoes) which won the ERF award in 2015, plus Amelia Earhart (Oxford Bookworms Library) which was shortlisted for the ERF final in 2015, and Women Who Made A Difference which was shortlisted in 2025. You can follow Janet's Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/JanetHardyGo... Her best-selling titles include Henry VIII and his Six Wives (Oxford Bookworms Library) and Sherlock Holmes: The Emerald Crown (Oxford Dominoes). Many of her works are cartoons or highly-illustrated books for students starting out in English and they include Sinbad, Mulan, Ali Baba and The Great Fire of London (Oxford Dominoes Starters). Janet believes that graded readers are one of the fastest and most enjoyable ways for learners to improve their English and a wonderful tool for developing reading skills and vocabulary. It is also highly motivating for students to choose their own book on a subject they are interested in. With this in mind, she has produced books on a variety of popular factual subjects such as Hollywood, San Francisco, Deserts and Chocolate (Oxford Bookworms Library Factfiles).
I like the story. I read it before in my mother tongue but I can't remember the 12 tasks that he had to carry out. I find the book is a bit long for Starter level. The text is quite long.