Percy Jackson's Greek Gods

Gods are pretty bloodthirsty. They swallow their own children (who pop out eventually as fully formed gods), tear mortals and other gods apart (such as when Zeus gets his tendons ripped out), torture those who wrong them with outrageous eternal punishments (for starters, poor Prometheus is chained to a rock while an eagle pecks at his liver every day), turn mortals into animals or plants, get mortals to go crazy and kill their own families, and stalk mortals they want to romance (there's one mention of a sexual assault). Percy always gives a warning when a particular myth gets gory.

Since there are so many origin stories included here, readers hear about the gods' many exploits. They cheat on their spouses all the time. Percy doesn't give a lot of details, handling the rendezvous with phrases such as "get cuddly with" and "extremely naughty." Also, in the early days, brother and sister gods married; Percy prepares readers for that. There's some nonsexual nakedness mentioned; those who see Artemis bathing don't live to tell the tale.

The chapter on Bacchus gets a big, somewhat silly Percy-style disclaimer about how kids should wait until they're at least 40 to drink and how they wouldn't like the hangover anyway. After that there's lots of talk about Bacchus' drunken parties and how wine was actually beneficial back then because it helped kill bacteria in bad drinking water. Gods get drunk drinking lots of nectar, and there's a mention of poppies/opium growing near the Lethe river (with another quick mention that drugs are bad).

Parents need to know Percy Jackson's Greek Gods is a hefty gift-size volume that profiles the 12 major Greek gods, as narrated by Percy Jackson from the bestselling series. It helps a little to read the Percy Jackson books first. Then readers will instantly connect with the narrator. They'll know why Percy prefers some gods over others and will get his sometimes sardonic, sometimes goofy sense of humor. Percy's wit helps smooth things over when the content gets more mature. Gods can behave very badly; they swallow their own children (who pop out eventually as fully formed gods), tear mortals and other gods apart (such as when Zeus gets his tendons ripped out), torture those who wrong them with outrageous eternal punishments (for starters, poor Prometheus is chained to a rock while an eagle pecks at his liver every day), get mortals to go crazy and kill their own families, and stalk mortals they want to romance (there's one mention of a sexual assault). They also cheat on their godly spouses a lot. Percy covers their exploits with phrases such as "get cuddly with" and "extremely naughty." With the chapter on Bacchus, the wine god, comes a humorous disclaimer about how kids should wait until they're 40 before they drink -- they won't like the hangovers. Besides providing a thorough study of the Greek myths, there are plenty of educational tidbits sprinkled throughout about word origins, why ancient Greeks and Romans wore laurel wreaths on their heads, and much more.