The Children's Homer - Softcover

The Children's Homer is a great book for older elementary children if they like adventure and are interested in learning about Greek society. It is an excellent book about the great Greek hero Odysseus and his son, Telemachus. When Telemachus is a baby his father, Odysseus, is called to go to war. When Telemachus grows older, the goddess Athene tells him to go seek his father. Telemachus obeys and the great adventure begins. A favorite character in the book would be Odysseus, because he was brave and wise. He would listen to advice given to him and was polite and thankful. Odysseus is an example of many good character traits still needed today.

Padraic Colum (1881–1972) was an Irish poet, novelist, dramatist, biographer and collector of folklore. He was one of the leading figures of the Celtic Revival. Colum published a number of collections of stories for children, beginning with The King of Ireland's Son. Three of Colum’s books for children were awarded retrospective citations for the Newbery Honor. A contract for children's literature with Macmillan Publishers made him financially secure for the rest of his life. In 1922 he was commissioned to write versions of Hawaiian folklore for young people. This resulted in the publication of three volumes of his versions of tales from the island. Colum also started writing novels. These include Castle Conquer and The Flying Swans. The Colums spent the years from 1930 to 1933 living in Paris and Nice, where Padraic renewed his friendship with James Joyce and became involved in the transcription of Finnegans Wake. After their time in France, the couple moved to New York City, where they both did some teaching at Columbia University and CCNY. Colum was a prolific author and published a total of 61 books, not counting his plays. He adopted the form of Noh drama in his later plays. Molly died in 1957 and Pádraic finished Our Friend James Joyce, which they had worked on together before her death. It was published in 1958. Colum divided his later years between the United States and Ireland. In 1961 the Catholic Library Association awarded him the Regina Medal. He died in Enfield, Connecticut, aged 90, and was buried in St. Fintan's Cemetery, Sutton.