The Trojan Horse: How the Greeks Won the War (Step into Reading) - Softcover

Little, Emily

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0394896742 ISBN 13: 9780394896748

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers, 1988

Synopsis

The Trojan War is one of the most important events in Greek mythology. It comes to life in this exciting Step 5 leveled reader about the Greeks' clever use of the Trojan Horse to wage a battle inside the walls of the city of Troy.

Based on the legends of ancient scribes Virgil and Homer this hight-interest story is easy-to-read for proficient readers, but the action and adventure will entice even the most reluctant readers. Step 5 books are written in chapters and illustrated in full color throughout.

"An ancient history lesson emerges from this account of the way the Greeks tricked the Trojans and rescued Helen of Troy. The book is well tailored to younger readers with careful explanations and short sentences; a pronunciation guide is appended. Drawings portray the story's main events. A nice supplement to units on ancient Greece or mythology." —Booklist.

About this title

About the Author

Emily Little is a children’s author who has produced several Step Into Reading titles, including The Trojan Horse: How the Greeks Won the War and David and the Giant.  

From the Back Cover

Illus. in full color. "An ancient history lesson emerges from this account of the way the Greeks tricked the Trojans and rescued Helen of Troy. The book is well tailored to younger readers with careful explanations and short sentences; a pronunciation guide is appended. Drawings portray the story's main events. A nice supplement to units on ancient Greece or mythology."--"Booklist.

Reviews

Grade 2-4 This basic vocabulary treatment presents the Trojan War on a scale that is less than epic. The plodding present-tense voice and pedestrian style are almost definitive in the way in which they bland the story out. "The chariots race around the battlefield. The Greeks chase the Trojans. The Trojans chase the Greeks." Little's fall of Troy has all of the excitement (and none of the tension) of being stuck in traffic for two hours. A much better treatment of the destruction of Troy, both in text and illustration, is James Reeves' The Trojan Horse (Watts, 1968; o.p.). Reeves maintains the Homeric narrative in a less edited form: including, for example, the death of Laacoon, which Little omits. Reeves' first-person voice creates the vivid, immediate, and dramatic effects so suitable, even necessary, to the epicand so glaringly absent from Little's bleached, textbook prose. The illustrations are representational but bland, done primarily in shades of brown, buff, and gold with touches of blue and red. The bare bones of Homer's epic is here, but it is not presented in a style that will inspire young readers. Ann Welton, Lake Dollof Elementary School, Auburn, Wash.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 1988
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0394896742
• ISBN 13: 9780394896748
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 48