From Amazon.com
Great Zeus! Ace author-illustrator team Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith (of
Stinky Cheese Man fame) get together again for the eighth title in their popular Time Warp Trio series. Fred, Sam, and narrator Joe are innocently performing a school play about Mount Olympus when "The Book" (a magic tome so dangerous it had been locked away) whirls them into the Greek underworld. Armed with little but a fake thunderbolt and a spray-painted golden apple, they find themselves at the gates of Hades, confronting a slavering, three-headed, not at all mythical Cerberus. ("'Nice doggie, nice doggie, nice doggie,' said Sam.") After a lucky escape, they get to the "real" Olympus only to be embroiled in an increasingly dangerous series of disagreements with the cheeky, wise-cracking, bickering immortals. Will they ever find "The Book" on Olympus, as they must in order to get safely back to opening night? Well, yes--but only just. For the confused or curious, there's a short glossary of Greek gods and monsters along with a pronunciation guide. (Ages 6 to 11)
--Richard Farr
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
Grade 3-5-Hey, are you ready for this? Joe, Fred, and Sam are transported back in time to Mount Olympus while performing in a school play about ancient Greece. Needless to say, they aren't much of a threat when they try to use their cardboard thunderbolts on Cerberus. Instead, the boys use their wits, and a Ding Dong in the case of the three-headed dog, as they quickly slip in and out of danger. Children who know Nike is the Greek goddess of victory will double over with laughter when Sam Orpheus, friend of Nike, introduces his chums as Fred Cyclops, follower of Reebok, and Joe Paris, cohort of Fila. Humor continues as the friends help hide a nervous Zeus, who is worried that his wife, Hera, will blab to the other gods if she finds out he lost his thunderbolts. Dionysus wants to party and Ares wants to fight, but the real trouble starts when Zeus challenges Joe to give his golden apple to the fairest of all goddesses. This entry in the series is guaranteed to sail off of library shelves. Purchase extra copies for teachers to use in their units on Greek mythology. A handy description of the gods, goddesses, and other monsters who rule Olympus is included.
Linda L. Plevak, Alamo Area Library System, San Antonio, TX Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
