An audiobook we love, actually
We are big fans of Greek myths in our family. When I read Susan Wise Bauer’s advice in The Well-Trained Mind that first-graders (6-7 year olds) should be reading Homer, I was sceptical to say the least. Perhaps because my own reading of the ancients was pretty much non-existent, I assumed they would be heavy, dry, impenetrable. You probably don’t need me to tell you how wrong I was.
In fact, the book that got my daughter hooked on reading was Usborne’s The Minotaur. We own multiple collections of Greek myths and have read all the excellent Usborne Young Readers on a Greek theme (Pegasus, the Wooden Horse, Icarus… several of them seem to be currently out of print but there are lots on eBay). I read aloud Rosemary Sutcliffe’s Black Ships Before Troy, surely intended for older children, but my two adored it. But possibly our favourite in our collection of Greek myths is the Tony Robinson and Richard Curtis 1980s retelling of the Odyssey and the Illiad, Odysseus: The Greatest Hero of them All and Odysseus II: The Journey Through Hell. They are as exciting as their titles suggest.
They are also hilarious, and gruesome, and occasionally scary. Usually when the children are listening to an audiobook I take the opportunity to cook, tidy, read my own book etc. But these stories are so good I don’t want to miss any! We have listened to them multiple times. They definitely dispelled any suspicions I had that Classics was boring. (I know, I know this is a shameful thing for a homeschooling mother to admit to. I can only be honest. In my defence I was very careful not to pass my suspicions on to the next generation.) I wish Richard Curtis spent less time making rom coms and more time giving us more glorious Greek myths. If you haven’t read/listened to them already, go and do it now.
NB Being Greek myths there are, obviously, some violent bits and some scary bits. My children are relatively sensitive but were fine listening to these at 4 and 6. Perhaps listen along yourself so you can skip any unsuitable bits—they’re so good you’ll want to be listening anyway.
What audiobooks guarantee you hours of peace and quiet? Please share!
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