Andrew Traucki and Mick Wannenmacher, Mashed Myths! Greek Heroes, March 26 2019, 128 pp., RRP $15.95 (pbk), ISBN
9780960048106
Mashed Myths! Greek Heroes is the funny and very entertaining brainchild of two scriptwriter/ filmmakers, who have taken six ancient Greek myths about heroes (e.g. Hercules, Odysseus and Jason), and turned the epic adventures on their metaphorical heads with a liberal dash of farts, snot, weird characters and jokes. Did you know, for example, that when Hercules’ sidekick, Iolaus kicked away a crab in self-defence he invented football? (Not.) Or that Jason was only able to defeat the farting harpies thanks to the even more lethal gaseous talents of his crew members, Castor and Pollux? (Also not.)
This 120-page riot will appeal to fans of Horrible Histories and the Treehouse books. Each short chapter is followed by a page or two of quizzes, jokes, activities or fun facts about ancient Greece. Like the Treehouse books, every page is heavily line-illustrated to provide all the random silliness and slapstick humour needed to keep those pages turning.
This book has an excellent chance of enticing even the most reluctant of young readers, aged 7-12.
Reviewed by Julie Murphy
