Book Title: Icarus was Ridiculous (available here)
Author: Pamela Butchart
Illustrator: Thomas Flintham
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Publication Date: September 2019
Most Suitable For: KS2
Reviewed By: Jane Evans, Year 4 Teacher
When Izzy’s friends and classmates behave badly she is quick to compare them to one of the many Greek Myths that she knows and loves so well. Of course, her friends are often clueless as to what she is on about so it falls to Izzy to explain, with only a slight tweak to the original storyline!
Butchart and Flintham (the team behind many other award-winning children’s books, such as The Demon Dinner Lady and There’s a Yeti in the Playground), acknowledge that they haven’t taken the original Myths too seriously. This is well reflected in the super-fun fast pace of the storytelling using language and dialogue children will easily relate to, with cleverly-punctuated sections that make you read whole paragraphs without pausing for breath and hilarious illustrations perfectly matching the mood of the text. This is the kind of book that is great for those who might otherwise roll their eyes at the mention of studying Greek myths, but will also please those who love the original stories.
Perfect as a fun twist on teaching Myths, this could be a great hook for retelling stories with a modern slant as well as just a lovely accessible read at storytime.
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You can order Icarus was Ridiculous online or from your local bookshop or library.
Many thanks to the publisher for sending us a review copy of this book and to Review Panel member Jane for reviewing it.
Where next?
> Visit our Reading for Pleasure Hub
> Browse our Topic Booklists
> View our printable year group booklists.
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