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This is a beautiful retelling of Homer's Odyssey.
The Odyssey is a story about a man that is trying to get back home to his family after a long war. One of the Greek gods doesn't like his arrogance and makes it difficult for him to get home. The difficulties consist of meeting the Cyclops, Circe, Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis, and more. It's a real adventure story. The problem, though, is that The Odyssey is written at around the high school level.
Rosemary Sutcliff takes Homer's story (written at high school level) and brings it down to about the level of 4th-6th grade. It's much easier to understand and enjoy after being adapted. Alan Lee has so beautifully illustrated this book that you too will fall in love with it. What I wouldn't have given to have this book when I read The Odyssey in high school--just for the illustrations.
My son, who is now 10, read this book last year. He highly recommends it. For him, it sparked a real interest in Greek mythology. He went on to read books about the Greek Gods and Greece. I don't know if he'll want to read one of the longer versions of Homer's epic when he's older, but at least he's familiar with the basic story after reading The Wanderings of Odysseus.
If you're wanting to introduce a child to the work of Homer, please take a look at this book. I can't say enough good about it.
Note: Rosemary Sutcliff also wrote a children's version of The Iliad which describes the war that Odysseus is returning home from. Alan Lee also illustrated this book. While I haven't bought it yet, it's probably just as good. It's called Black Ships Before Troy.
The Wanderings of Odysseus available at a discount from Amazon.com!
