Classic Myths to Read Aloud

William F. Russell's Classic Myths to Read Aloud is a book of myths from ancient Greece and Rome for 5 year olds, put together for a grown-up to read out loud.

What happens

This one's really for you, the reader-aloud. Each myth comes with a short note to set the scene, a rough reading time, and a pronunciation guide. Zeus is ZOOSE. Daedalus is DEAD-uh-lus. Super handy if you've never had to say Persephone out loud in front of a small audience!

The stories start simple and get harder as you go. The first set is marked for ages five and up.

There's Athena and Poseidon arguing over who gets a brand-new city. He makes a warhorse leap out of the ground. She quietly grows an olive tree. Guess who wins?

There's Icarus, flying with wings his dad made from gull feathers and wax, who just won't listen and goes too close to the sun. And there's where the seasons come from, Echo and Narcissus, and a story about two very loyal friends, Damon and Pythias.

The retellings are quite old-fashioned. They're based on much older versions of the myths, so the sentences are long and rich and full of words your little one won't have heard before. It sounds lovely read aloud.

After each myth there's a section called A Few Words More, about where some of the words in the story come from. Trident, for example. That bit's meant for you to read beforehand and drop into a chat afterwards, not to read out. (The long introduction is for grown-ups too, and you can happily skip straight to the stories.)

A heads-up before you start. These are myths, and lots of them end sadly. Icarus falls into the sea and drowns, and his father can't save him. Echo and Narcissus doesn't end happily either. The book itself suggests reading each story through first, and says they don't make good bedtime stories.

So maybe not one for a child who's already a bit wobbly about loss. For a curious little one who likes big stories and asks big questions, though, they're brilliant for a proper chat.

What to read next

If these become a regular thing in your house, Classics to Read Aloud to Your Children is the same compiler's earlier collection and works the same way, with Aesop's fables, Hans Christian Andersen, Black Beauty and a bit of Robin Hood.