Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes

A companion to Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, this myth-retelling collection has Percy Jackson narrate the legends of twelve heroes from Greek mythology in his signature wisecracking, modern voice. It is a reference-style anthology rather than a novel in the main series: each of the twelve chapters profiles a single hero, beginning with Perseus and ending with Jason. In between, Percy recounts the deeds of Psyche, Phaethon, Otrera, Daedalus, Theseus, Atalanta, Bellerophon, Cyrene, Orpheus, and Hercules, deliberately mixing the famous heroes everyone expects with lesser-known figures and several women warriors. Chapter lengths vary widely, from Orpheus's brief tale to nearly a hundred pages devoted to Hercules and his labors, and the titles keep Percy's comic tone with entries like "Phaethon Fails Driver's Ed" and "Hercules Does Twelve Stupid Things." Percy relays the achievements these heroes are still famous for, slaying the Minotaur, retrieving the Golden Fleece, taming Pegasus, founding the Amazons, while being honest about where they went wrong; most of the stories end in tragedy, though not all. Caldecott Honoree John Rocco supplies vibrant full-color artwork throughout the 336-page hardcover. Educational but consistently funny, the book pairs faithful mythology with modern references and snark, and is best read as an illustrated mythology primer or series companion rather than a continuation of Percy's own quests.