Athena: Goddess of Wisdom and War

by Imogen Greenberg, Isabel Greenberg (Illustrator)

Overview

A spunky, illustrated feminist take on the myth of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, war, and courage from author Imogen Greenberg and award-winning artist and writer Isabel Greenberg.
 
From the moment she sprung from Zeus’s head, Athena was extraordinary. Even though some doubted her as a young goddess, Athena never backed down from a fight. Poseidon wants to be the patron god of a nearby city? Well, so does Athena! And she’s going to outwit him and found Athens. Perseus doesn’t know how to defeat Medusa? No problem! Athena can give him the knowledge (and shield) he needs to take off her head. Odysseus is lost at sea, seemingly doomed? Not anymore! Athena can get him home.
 
In Athena, follow the goddess of wisdom through her adventures with gods and mortals, discover the perils of crossing her, and see how she eventually learned to better understand and aid the human race.
 
“In addition to telling a ripping yarn, this book gives readers an accurate and structured beginner’s foothold in the classics that will keep them reading . . . Three cheers for Athena, smarts, and bravery!” —Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419748592
Publisher:	Abrams Fanfare
Publication date:	06/22/2021
Series:	Tales of Great Goddesses
Pages:	96
Product dimensions:	7.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Isabel Greenberg is an award-winning illustrator, comic artist, and writer. Her graphic novels, including The Midnight Babies, The One Hundred Nights of Hero, and Glass Town, have received starred reviews, won the Best Book Award at the British Comic Awards, and won the Jonathan Cape/Observer/Comica Graphic Short Story Prize, among other praise. Greenberg has worked with a variety of clients, including the Guardian, Nobrow Press, The National Trust, and the New York Times. She lives in London and enjoys illustrating all things historical.

Imogen Greenberg loves writing history books and myths for children. When not writing, she works in arts and theater administration. She lives in London.
 

Editorial Reviews

**STARRED REVIEW**
"In addition to telling a ripping yarn, this book gives readers an accurate and structured beginner’s foothold in the classics that will keep them reading. . .Three cheers for Athena, smarts, and bravery!" 

— Kirkus Reviews

"Isabel Greenberg’s bold, angular art conveys a positive, peppy tone, with light comedic elements . . . a good place for young myth-interested readers to begin." 

— Publishers Weekly

"A lighthearted . . . character portrait that will draw elementary grade fans of Marcia Williams’s ventures into classical history and mythology." 

— School Library Journal

From the Publisher

★ 2021-04-14
This graphic novel brings plucky illustrated energy to the story of the goddess Athena.

With both engaging, whimsical illustrations and cheeky humor, the Greenbergs retell the classical exploits of the Greek goddess of wisdom and war, Athena, from her painful birth from the head of Zeus and beyond. Readers watch the goddess best Poseidon, help Perseus defeat Medusa, meddle unpleasantly with mortals like Arachne, start and end the Trojan War, aid Odysseus on his journey, and generally learn to interfere less and help more throughout her adventures. In addition to telling a ripping yarn, this book gives readers an accurate and structured beginner’s foothold in the classics that will keep them reading. With its introduction to characters, visual cues across illustrations, breathtaking splash pages, glossary, and readers guide, the book opens the door to the Trojan War, The Odyssey, and Greek mythology. Further, part of what makes the Greek gods attractive and interesting is their humanity—and that is not lost here, either. Athena is brave and wise but also jealous and meddling and vain. She makes mistakes and is far from perfect, but that makes her all the more a hero for every reader.

Three cheers for Athena, smarts, and bravery! (Graphic mythology. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews