The Trojan Horse: How the Greeks Won the War

Vivid watercolors and an intriguing text present one of history's most cunning strategies: the creation of a giant wooden horse to smuggle Greek warriors into the impregnable walled city of Troy.

This book is about how the Greeks won the war against the Trojans. I enjoyed this book for three reasons. First, I appreciated the language of the book as it was clear and descriptive to the point where one can vividly imagine the setting of the story without illustrations. For example, when the author describes the city of Troy, she describes its walls as "stones that men cut and fit together. In some places it is very high and very thick. The lower part of the wall is covered with limestone. The limestone makes the wall slippery." Second, I enjoyed the illustrations as they matched perfectly with each page and description. It was simple yet detailed enough so that readers can have an idea of the setting in ancient times. Lastly, I show more really appreciated how there was a pronunciation guide at the end of the book for words that were hard to pronounce such as Agamemnon, Iliad, Mycenae, and Odysseus. show less

Vivid watercolors and an intriguing text present one of history's most cunning strategies: the creation of a giant wooden horse to smuggle Greek warriors into the impregnable walled city of Troy.

This book provides an interesting narrative of the events that led up to the amazing and incredible Greek victory over Troy. Strife had always existed between the Greeks and the Trojans. The King of Troy had an unquenchable thirst for enlarging his ever-growing kingdom, and desired to conquer the Trojan city of Troy once and for all. The Trojans insisted on a toll for the Greeks to enter the Black Sea, and this toll was heavily resented by the Greeks, who wanted free access to the Black Sea. The Trojans ended up capturing the Greek king’s wife, Helen. The plan was for the Trojan prince to marry Helen, thus mocking the king of Greece. These actions led to war being declared between the Greeks and the Trojans. For ten long and difficult show more years the Trojan War raged unabated. Then Odysseus, a Greek commander, developed a brilliant strategic plan to secretly enter the city of Troy. As part of this covert operation, the Greeks decided to clandestinely build a hollow horse for the Greeks in which to hide in order to successfully enter the city of Troy and thus destroy it from the inside. When the Trojans brought the wooden horse into the city, the Greeks quietly snuck out of it under the cover of darkness and burned and ransacked the entire unsuspecting populace while they were lying abed. Children of all ages are thrilled by the rapid-paced action in this book, and it enriches students’ vocabulary, as well serving to increase their knowledge of ancient history. The illustrations in the book are spectacular, and aide in the comprehension of the text. show less

A short early reader chapter book suitable for early elementary grades. The last chapter explains the discovery of the ruins of Troy by Schliemann. We used it as a quick read aloud for my kindergarten and preschool child, and they both understood and appreciated the story.

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.

One of my favorite stories as a child!