Mount Olympus Basketball

A somewhat odd view of Greek gods and heroes, the author has them playing a basketball game. Funny if you know enough about the gods and heroes to get the humor. It was a fun followup to our studies on Classic Greece.

This graphic novel is appropriate for the grades first through fourth. The book has detailed pictures and slightly long commentary.The Greek gods and mortals verse each other in a basketball game. The main players such as Zeus, Hera, Hercules and Achilles are introduced in the first pages. The story uses some accurate information to describe the Gods and Mortals. For example Poseidon the god of the sea brings in a wave for defense and Odysseus scores a point by hiding in a wooden horse. Some other Greek characters such as Atlas and Cyclops are introduced. Greek history is shown in a comedic way throughout the game. At the end of the book the author shows how students can learn more about Greek history by asking a teacher or by looking show more up books and web sites.
Uses in classroom:
- After teaching a lesson about the gods and mortals I would read this book to the students for fun.
- As a project I would have students research one Greek god or mortal and create a poster to share with the class. After the presentations I would share this book with the class.
- After reading the graphic novel I would have students make text-to-world connections. How do the characters in the stories relate to the real history? show less