Bibliographic Information: Byrd, R. (2005). The hero and the minotaur: The fantastic adventures of Theseus. New York, NY: Dutton Children’s Books.
Brief Annotation: An account of the many adventures of Theseus, from his birth through his defeat of the Minotaur and ascension to the throne in Athens.
Genre: Myth
Grade Level: 1st-8th
Readers who will like this: Readers who enjoy mythology; readers who enjoy adventure stories; readers who enjoy stories that feature monsters
Rating/Response: 3; This book was all over the place. The author attempted to cram the entirety of Theseus’ story, as well as some of the supporting side-myths (such as the story of Daedalus and Icarus) into one picture book. The result is a tale that feels both cumbersome and fractured. Many Greek myths are collections of shorter stories that are loosely linked together by a common character and his or her interaction with the god(s) and goddess(es) of Greece, but in this instance, I feel it would have been better to leave out parts of the larger mythology surrounding Theseus to create a more cohesive whole. That being said, the retelling is accurate and descriptive. The illustrations are lovely in general, but a particularly nice touch is the way in which the gods and goddesses are incorporated into their domains (such as Poseidon being a part of the water throughout the book). This book is more suited for independent reading than for reading aloud, but it is a strong introduction to Theseus.
One question you would ask before a read aloud: “Hero” is a word that we use a lot, but it can mean different things to different people and cultures. What does the word “hero” mean to you? What makes somebody a hero?