Greek mythology, Greek gods and goddesses, humour, friendship, Stone Henge
Who Let the Gods Out?
by Maz Evans
Key information
Author: Maz Evans
Illustrator: Aleksei Bitskoff
Release Date:2nd Feb 2017
Book type: Chapter, 384 pages, paperback
Star rating: ★★★★
Reader level: Growing reader (8+) / Shared read (7+)
Series: First of 4
Age: Year 3+
Overview
Elliot Hooper is a young boy with a big secret. He spends most of his time looking after his mum and the farm house and keeping them both safe from their cunning neighbour, Mrs Porshley Plum. As time passes, and his mum's illness continues to worsen, Elliot realises that his neighbour isn't there to lend a hand: she wants to take his home and sell it for profit. Elliot's neighbour soon works out that his Mum, Josie, has early-onset Dementia and that taking the farm from them may be easier than she first thought.
One night, a blazing star smashes into Elliot's cow shed but upon further inspection, Elliot finds only a rather unusual girl in what appears to be Greek fancy dress. He soon discovers that things are not as they seem and the young girl Virgo - a member of the Zodiac Council of Elysium - is on a mission to find an ancient (and dangerous) prisoner. Worried for her safety, Elliot offers to take Virgo to the prisoner, locked beneath Stone Henge for thousands of years, however his good deed quickly turns into a nightmare as he and Virgo accidentally release the prisoner into the human world.
Thanatos, the Greek God of death, disappears into the mortal world with every intention of causing chaos. Stunned by this turn of events, Virgo travels to Elysium (home to Virgo and the rest of the Zodiac Council) for help. Reluctant to leave his Mum for too long, Elliot agrees to travel with Virgo to Elysium but very quickly gets caught up in a whole lot more trouble. Virgo is stripped of her powers and banished to the mortal world to capture and return Thanatos to prison.
Together, they set off to find the God of Death, calling upon the Greek gods and goddesses Hermes, Zeus and Athena for help. Elliot travels through the immortal world where he experiences things beyond his wildest dreams. They must race against time to find Thanatos, capture him, save the mortal world and reclaim Virgo's place in Elysium all before Mrs Porshley-Plum tricks his mum into signing over everything they own.
Key concepts/themes
- Greek gods and goddesses
- Greek mythology
- Dementia
- Child carer
- Humour
- Immortal world
- Team work
Considerations
- Dementia
- Illness
- Poverty
- Child carer
- Demons/afterlife
- Underworld
Curriculum links
- History: Ancient Greeks
- Class read Year 3+
Additional Teaching Opportunities
1. History
- Stone Henge
- Greek Gods/Godesses
2. Geography
- Stone Henge
3. RSHE
- Dementia/Alzheimer's
- Child carers
4. Writing
- Dialogue
- Discussion text (Should Elliot be excluded? Should Virgo be banished?)
- Newspaper report (shooting star seen)
- Diary entry (Mrs Porshley Plum's cunning plan)
- Persuasive letter (Mrs P convincing Josie to sell the house)
- Information text (Alzheimer's/dementia)
5.Geography
- Stone Henge (tenuous)
Vocabulary
This text has plenty of exciting language and is a great tool for the explicit teaching of Tier 2 vocabulary
| Tier 2 | Tier 3 |
|---|---|
| sumptuous, scintillating, nonchalantly, immorrtal, vast, scoffed, haughtily, futile, plummeted, discern, fragile | Elysium, River Stix, god/goddess, Zodiac Council, Athenian, labyrinth, minotaur, kardia, ambrosia, Zeus, Hermes, constellation |
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