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Odysseus And The Cyclops
Returning home from the Trojan war, Odysseus and his men are trapped in a cave by the one-eyed, man-eating Cyclops called Polyphemus, and Odysseus must concoct a brilliant plan in order to escape.
- GenresPicture BooksMythology
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 11, 2017
Fun. Good intro. to the classical world.
November 13, 2017
Title: Odysseus and the Cyclops
Author: Warwick Hutton
Illustrator: Warwick Hutton
Genre: Myth
Theme: Greek Mythology, survival
Opening Line/Sentence: The north wind blew, a wild tempest tossed the sea, one small ship wallowed southward before the storm.
Brief Book Summary: Odysseus and his men sail to an island and get out to explore. They wander into a Cyclops’ cave. When the Cyclops finds men in his cave, he gets angry and eats some of them. The remaining men outsmart the Cyclops by figuring out a way out of the cave where they’re trapped, get back on their boat, and head home.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
http://www.clcd.com.ezaccess.librarie...
Gisela Jernigan, Ph.D. (Children's Literature)
Appealing watercolor and ink illustrations and a lively text combine to help make this retelling of part of the Odyssey accessible to a wide age range. The author-illustrator does a good job of portraying both the danger of being captured by the Cyclops and the humor of Odysseus' clever tricks that finally allow him and his men to escape from the man-eating giant.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
http://www.clcd.com.ezaccess.librarie...
Elizabeth Bush (The Bulletin of the Center for Children s Books, November 1995 (Vol. 49, No. 3))
Finding perhaps more humor than horror in this tale of the man-eating giant, Hutton employs an even, deadpan tone that matches his customary pale, understated line and watercolor pictures. Readers for whom the gruesome details are the story's main draw may be unimpressed by this Polyphemus, who looks more oafish than threatening, or by such blunt statements as "He snatched up two men, one in each hand, and then . . . he ate them." Although the essentials of this tale are present, including the "Nobody" word play and the inventive escape scene, no background about the Odyssey or reference to Poseidon's curse is offered, making it difficult to relate this tale to Odysseus' other adventures.
Response to Two Professional Reviews: I agree with both of these reviews. While the story is portrayed through watercolor illustrations and simple text, there wasn’t any hint of what happened before Odysseus and his men met the Cyclops or the Odyssey in general. The story is also very gruesome, which might not attract some children. However, it is written in simple terms, which makes the story easy to understand, especially since it’s Greek mythology.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The Cyclops is portrayed as a giant, which makes him even more intimidating and scary compared to tiny Odysseus. The sharpened branch that Odysseus and his men used to blind the Cyclops is pointy, which made me feel uneasy when they plunged it into the Cyclops’ eye. Odysseus is also wearing yellow, which is the brightest color among his men. This makes Odysseus stand out, since he is the main character. In some of the illustrations, Odysseus is also in the center of the page, which catches the readers’ attention.
Consideration of Instructional Application: For a minilesson, I could discuss Greek Mythology with my students and give them some background knowledge about the Odyssey. After the read aloud, I would have my students brainstorm other ways Odysseus and his men could outsmart the Cyclops and get away and even write their own alternative endings. I could connect this book to other content areas by having my students learn about the history of Greece and how Greek Mythology came to be.
Author: Warwick Hutton
Illustrator: Warwick Hutton
Genre: Myth
Theme: Greek Mythology, survival
Opening Line/Sentence: The north wind blew, a wild tempest tossed the sea, one small ship wallowed southward before the storm.
Brief Book Summary: Odysseus and his men sail to an island and get out to explore. They wander into a Cyclops’ cave. When the Cyclops finds men in his cave, he gets angry and eats some of them. The remaining men outsmart the Cyclops by figuring out a way out of the cave where they’re trapped, get back on their boat, and head home.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
http://www.clcd.com.ezaccess.librarie...
Gisela Jernigan, Ph.D. (Children's Literature)
Appealing watercolor and ink illustrations and a lively text combine to help make this retelling of part of the Odyssey accessible to a wide age range. The author-illustrator does a good job of portraying both the danger of being captured by the Cyclops and the humor of Odysseus' clever tricks that finally allow him and his men to escape from the man-eating giant.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
http://www.clcd.com.ezaccess.librarie...
Elizabeth Bush (The Bulletin of the Center for Children s Books, November 1995 (Vol. 49, No. 3))
Finding perhaps more humor than horror in this tale of the man-eating giant, Hutton employs an even, deadpan tone that matches his customary pale, understated line and watercolor pictures. Readers for whom the gruesome details are the story's main draw may be unimpressed by this Polyphemus, who looks more oafish than threatening, or by such blunt statements as "He snatched up two men, one in each hand, and then . . . he ate them." Although the essentials of this tale are present, including the "Nobody" word play and the inventive escape scene, no background about the Odyssey or reference to Poseidon's curse is offered, making it difficult to relate this tale to Odysseus' other adventures.
Response to Two Professional Reviews: I agree with both of these reviews. While the story is portrayed through watercolor illustrations and simple text, there wasn’t any hint of what happened before Odysseus and his men met the Cyclops or the Odyssey in general. The story is also very gruesome, which might not attract some children. However, it is written in simple terms, which makes the story easy to understand, especially since it’s Greek mythology.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The Cyclops is portrayed as a giant, which makes him even more intimidating and scary compared to tiny Odysseus. The sharpened branch that Odysseus and his men used to blind the Cyclops is pointy, which made me feel uneasy when they plunged it into the Cyclops’ eye. Odysseus is also wearing yellow, which is the brightest color among his men. This makes Odysseus stand out, since he is the main character. In some of the illustrations, Odysseus is also in the center of the page, which catches the readers’ attention.
Consideration of Instructional Application: For a minilesson, I could discuss Greek Mythology with my students and give them some background knowledge about the Odyssey. After the read aloud, I would have my students brainstorm other ways Odysseus and his men could outsmart the Cyclops and get away and even write their own alternative endings. I could connect this book to other content areas by having my students learn about the history of Greece and how Greek Mythology came to be.
February 21, 2023
It’s kind of hard to give a Greek myth a low rating. I picked up this book to refresh my memory on the myths to decide if I want to read the adult version and planned to give this to my great grandson but have changed my mind, think it might give him nightmares. Did admire Odysseus’ ingenuity and plan to read more.
August 8, 2017
My little 7 year old loves Greek, Roman, and Norse myths, so this book was perfect for him. Fun, albeit a little silly, illustrations.
This book gets a little intense at times, especially when the Cyclops is eating people, but I appreciated it not being whitewashed!
This book gets a little intense at times, especially when the Cyclops is eating people, but I appreciated it not being whitewashed!
November 29, 2015
I’ve said before that Warwick Hutton enjoys showing how small humans are in comparison to larger forces. This book is no different.
In other stories in which a protagonist faces a giant, the protagonist is often drawn normally, while the giant is enormous and fills the page. Or perhaps we only see the foot of the beast, or the eye.
In Hutton’s illustrative world, the giant is the normal-sized one, and it is the rest of the humans which are puny. In fact, we can often barely make out their expressions.
This cyclops is not nearly so monstrous. Were it not for his size and his single eye, he might not even be considered a monster. He is rather sensibly dressed and well-kempt, and appears to make his livelihood as a shepherd. We see him with his shepherding staff and flock of sheep, being led in and out of his cave. In fact, he seems so sensible, that Odysseus at first attempts to reason with him.
“Good sir, we are travelers on our way home. The great god Zeus respects all those who help travelers, and we wonder if you will sell us some of your cheese and let us go on our way?”
Polyphemus the Cyclops does not take Odysseus up on this good-natured offer, however, adding as an afterthought, “You might be good enough to eat, though.”
I counted six men consumed over the course of the next two days of entrapment, two at a time, so that the bones decorating the cave floor gradually increase. The dwindling men must make their escape, and they must do so using their cunning. I got a real sense of the claustrophobia the men felt, their powerlessness. The only thing they have going for them is the fact that after two men, the cyclops seems too full to eat any more.
So. You have a jar of wine, a burning fire, a flock of sheep, and only one entrance with a cyclops guarding it. How would you escape?
http://www.picturebooksreview.com/201...
In other stories in which a protagonist faces a giant, the protagonist is often drawn normally, while the giant is enormous and fills the page. Or perhaps we only see the foot of the beast, or the eye.
In Hutton’s illustrative world, the giant is the normal-sized one, and it is the rest of the humans which are puny. In fact, we can often barely make out their expressions.
This cyclops is not nearly so monstrous. Were it not for his size and his single eye, he might not even be considered a monster. He is rather sensibly dressed and well-kempt, and appears to make his livelihood as a shepherd. We see him with his shepherding staff and flock of sheep, being led in and out of his cave. In fact, he seems so sensible, that Odysseus at first attempts to reason with him.
“Good sir, we are travelers on our way home. The great god Zeus respects all those who help travelers, and we wonder if you will sell us some of your cheese and let us go on our way?”
Polyphemus the Cyclops does not take Odysseus up on this good-natured offer, however, adding as an afterthought, “You might be good enough to eat, though.”
I counted six men consumed over the course of the next two days of entrapment, two at a time, so that the bones decorating the cave floor gradually increase. The dwindling men must make their escape, and they must do so using their cunning. I got a real sense of the claustrophobia the men felt, their powerlessness. The only thing they have going for them is the fact that after two men, the cyclops seems too full to eat any more.
So. You have a jar of wine, a burning fire, a flock of sheep, and only one entrance with a cyclops guarding it. How would you escape?
http://www.picturebooksreview.com/201...
April 13, 2012
I gave this story 3 stars because I didn't really understand the point of the story.It is a folklore. It was written for I-A.
The story was about a one-eyed monster that was outsmarted by Odysseus. The giant ends up being taken out by the smarted Odysseus.
I personally did not care for the story. It didn't seem to have a real importance to it. The pictures fit the story well. I wouldn't recommend this story for younger children just based off the fact of how they killed the Cyclops by sticking the giant in the eye. The giant eats the smaller people and then at the end the Cyclops is defeated.
I am not sure how this would be connected into the classroom. There is no theme that sticks out to me that the children would be able to relate to.
The story was about a one-eyed monster that was outsmarted by Odysseus. The giant ends up being taken out by the smarted Odysseus.
I personally did not care for the story. It didn't seem to have a real importance to it. The pictures fit the story well. I wouldn't recommend this story for younger children just based off the fact of how they killed the Cyclops by sticking the giant in the eye. The giant eats the smaller people and then at the end the Cyclops is defeated.
I am not sure how this would be connected into the classroom. There is no theme that sticks out to me that the children would be able to relate to.
December 23, 2015
Weak - both in the overly informal retelling and in the sloppy illustrations. No redeeming qualities. Find another version - there are plenty.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews