O'Connor, George. Zeus: king of the gods. New York: First Second, 2010. ISBN: 1596434317.
Author / Illustrator Website: http://geooco.blogspot.com/
Olympians Series Website: http://olympiansrule.blogspot.com/
Awards: Nominated for Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards (CYBILS), 2010.
Media: Black Ink and Photoshop Color Tool after Scanning Ink Sketch
Use of Simile: (p. 4) “the three Cyclopes, enormous and powerful as storms,” (p. 15) “swift as the wind,” (p. 17) “as fluid as the sea,”
Use of Alliteration: (p. 31) “be beaten by brats,”
Use of Onomatopoeia: (p. 53) “Hiiiiiiissssss.” (p. 61) “BOOM!”
Special Notations: 2010 Copyright Date, Lesson Plan (available at http://picturebooksforbigkids.blogspot.com/2011/08/6th-grade-ancient-greece-lesson-plan.html), Graphic Novel (Non-Fiction), Personal Top Ten, Challenged Book Potential (see discussion after Personal Reaction)
Curricular Connection: History Social-Science Content Standards for California, Grade Six, Standard 6.4.4: Explain the significance of Greek mythology to the everyday life of people in the region and how Greek literature continues to permeate our literature and language today, drawing from Greek mythology and epics, such as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, and from Aesop's Fables.
Annotation: Zeus, son of Kronos, takes on his powerful father to save his brothers and sisters. Zeus and his siblings battle the Titans and begin their rule of the Earth from the heights of Olympus in this comic style mythology lesson.
Personal Reaction: George O’Connor’s new series, the Olympians, debuts with volume 1, Zeus: King of the Gods. O’Connor brings classic comic book drawing style together with Greek mythology for a strong new entry in the graphic novel genre. I was surprised by the informed and powerful storytelling voice that accompanies O’Connor’s strong, fluid artwork. At times, the narration is almost poetic: “Wife and husband, Gaea and Ouranos, earth and sky, together, alone, in the nothing,” (p. 3). O’Connor offers a complete history of the Gods of Mount Olympians from the beginning with Gaea and Ouranos to Kronos and Rhea through the clash of the Titans which results in the dawn of a new age starring the Olympians Gods. While all of the facts about Zeus and his family’s history are included in this graphic novel, there is also humor. On pages 20-21, Zeus and Metis, the daughter of Oceanus, banter playfully as they plan Zeus’ overthrow of his father Kronos. “Because I’m so much smarter than you, of course,” (p. 21) says Metis as the two figure out how to save Zeus’ siblings. I enjoyed the contrast between O’Connor’s looming drawing of Kronos and on of the Gigantes with the light dialogue: “P-please don’t eat us. Thank you,” (p. 24). The artwork is big and does its share of storytelling; on page 24, O’Connor introduces Zeus’ brothers and sisters and uses color to highlight their areas of expertise. Poseidon is shown in a panel filled with blue and aqua, reelecting his water realm while “fair-haired Demeter,” is shown in a yellow field of corn. Mythology in a graphic novel format seems like a great match because the vivid illustrations work so well with the grand action of the Gods. Zeus slays Kampe the dragon to gain access to Tartoros to save the Cyclopes and enlist their help in fighting Kronos. Zeus also claims his birthright, the thunderbolt, from his grandmother, Gaea, and all of this activity is well-presented with bold lines and rich color, reminiscent of comics of years gone by. O’Connor wraps up this impressive first installment of the Olympians with a thorough appendix that includes discussion questions, biographies for the main characters, helpful notes on for Greek names and terms, as well as an author note about Greek mythology. Student readers will also appreciate the Olympian family tree at the beginning of the book and a strong list of additional reading material.
Challenged Book: While the United States has a long history of protecting personal freedom, Americans also have a long history of challenging and banning books at the cost of personal freedom. People challenge, ban and object to books everyday according to ALA statistics, typically with good intentions, too (ALA, 2008). In fact, these days it is mostly parents doing the challenging (ALA 2008). Reasons for challenging books often fall into three categories according to the American Library Association: a book contains sexually explicit material, the book contains offensive language or the book is unsuitable for a particular age group. One look at these three categories brings to mind one question for me: according to who? Who is to say what sexually explicit is? Who determines which words are offensive? Who says which books are suitable and how do we protect one age group without detriment to another age group? Book challenges and book banning are, by nature, biased. Reading is for everyone and in the words of librarian and philosopher, Ranganathan, “every book its reader.” Ranganathan’s third law of library science essentially says that every book out there is for someone (Cloonan & Dove, 2005). In other words, if one person or even a thousand people raise concerns about a book, so what . . . that book still has an audience and we need to make that book available to that audience. Every book can be deemed useful to someone, if that book isn’t pulled from the shelves. Every book has the potential to be offensive to someone and censorship is often personal and arbitrary. Personal and arbitrary feelings by an individual should not inform freedom and access to books.
When I read Zeus: King of the Gods, my first reaction was that this book would be fantastic for sixth graders studying mythology. My second reaction was concern that some parents might object to the book. I work as an elementary school librarian and I would never dream of censoring a library collection, but I do need to be prepared to address parental concerns and challenges to the collection. I’ve had parents object to Harry Potter books, Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks for reasons ranging from profanity to allegations of witchcraft. Zeus: King of the Gods includes the word “bastard,” and shows Zeus leaning over Metis, shirtless, asking for a kiss. There are also a number of visually intense illustrations featuring violence. O’Connor’s book has the potential to be challenged on the basis of being sexually explicit, containing offensive language and being unsuitable for certain age groups. Yet, Ranganathan and I both know that O’Connor’s book has its reader and needs to be on the shelf, available to that reader. If parents approach me with concerns about Zeus: King of the Gods, I can always rely on the ALA to support the inclusion of this book in the library’s collection. According to ALA and the “Free Access to Minors” document, “Librarians and governing bodies should maintain that parents—and only parents—have the right and the responsibility to restrict the access of their children—and only their children—to library resources. Censorship by librarians of constitutionally protected speech, whether for protection or for any other reason, violates the First Amendment,” (ALA, 2008).” As a librarian, I am bound to not practice censorship and it’s actually up to every parent to make decisions about which books are and aren’t appropriate for their children. I would share with concerned parents both the reasons why I believe that Zeus: King of the Gods is an excellent book for sixth graders and why it will remain on the library shelves, library shelves that are browsed by readers who might be too young for the book (as determined by a parent). This book has to be available for “its reader,” and censorship is not the answer when it comes to helping children of any age select books.
References
About Banned & Challenged Books," American Library Association, July 29, 2008.
http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/aboutbannedbooks/index.cfm
(Accessed July 31, 2011). Document ID: 501522
Cloonan, M., & Dove, J. (2005). Ranganathan online: Do digital libraries violate the third law?. Library Journal, 130(6), 58.
