Best of 4 "Odyssey" Books I Have Reviewed

I spent some time last year reading different versions of “The Odyssey” trying to figure out which one would be the best to read to my children. What I discovered in my limited mom's survey –which included reading story segments to my then 5 and 7 year olds -- is that there are some excellent books to choose from. Lister, Sutliff, and McCaughrean are all good authors and I don't think you can go horrible wrong with any one of them. However, for our purposes, it was McCaughrean's book that I finally decided to purchase. And NOT the new edition, which is a rather cheap little paperback in which all of the artwork has been striped out; but the older, larger book which contains the nice bright drawings which younger children really need: ISBN 0192741306.

The major advantage that I found with McCaughrean's book is that it made the best Read-aloud. In my opinion Ms. McMaughrean's choice of words and her addition of simple lines of conversation made this book more attractive to my active children, so that they sat longer and listened better.

Besides these minor dialog issues, the principle differences between these three books was a) the structure they use to tell the tale, b) what details and adventures they choose to include, and c) the artwork.

In regards to structure, both the Sutliff and McCaughrean versions begin before the walls of Troy. Robin Lister's book, on the other hand, starts more traditionally on the island of Phaeacia where Odysseus was shipwrecked. Ms. Lister proceeds by using flashbacks to tell the tale, whereas the other two authors unweave the plot for you, starting at the beginning and going on through to the end.

As for content, all three authors chose slightly different parts to emphasis, and various aspects to omit. Only the current volume, for example, contains the story of the Laestrygonians, and there are some characters which appear in some books by name which in others are absent altogether or who go unnamed. But all the major events and persons are present in all three, so that I wouldn't be concerned. When they are older your children can read a proper adult translation -- or even the original for themselves.

The only other significant difference in content regards Odysseus' return home. Both Lister's and Sutliff's books take more time to describe his homecoming, poor Penelope's plight, and the downfall of the suitors. In comparison, Ms. McCaughrean's book dashes through that part of story in a few turns of the page, which, as it turns out, was fine for us, as these 'marriage' and 'faith' themes weren't nearly as interesting to my children as Greek eating monsters and giants.

Considerations:::

McMaughrean's Odyssey is my book of choice for an Odyssey Read-Aloud. The other books (listed below) were very good and if your children are older and can read for themselves, you should check them out. But this version just worked out better for us as the simple dialog and cadence worked in engaging my youngsters. The Accelerated Reading designation for McMaughrean's Odyssey could not be found.

The Odyssey (Kingfisher Epics) retold by Robin Lister -- The Accelerated Reading designation for this version could not be found.

The Wanderings of Odysseus by Rosemary Sutcliff -- The Accelerated Reading level for this book is 6.5.

McCaughrean's Odysseus at a Library Near You