Black Ships Before Troy | 
 enlarge | Author: Rosemary Sutcliff
Publisher: Laurel Leaf
Category: Book
List Price: $6.50
Buy New: $2.58
You Save: $3.92 (60%)
New (32) Used (9) Collectible (1) from $2.50
Rating:  25 reviews
Sales Rank: 15903
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Reading Level: Young Adult
Pages: 160
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.7
ISBN: 055349483X
EAN: 9780553494839
Publication Date: December 13, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
The Story of the Iliad
Homer's epic poem, The Illiad, is one of the greatest adventure stories of all time. In it, the abduction of the legendary beauty, Helen of Troy, leads to a conflict in which even the gods and goddesses take sides and intervene. It is in the Trojan War that the most valiant heroes of the ancient world are pitted against one another. Here Hectore, Ajax, Achilles, and Odysseus meet their most formidable challenges and in some casas their tragic ends.
Rosemary Sutcliff makes such extraordinary stories as those of those Trojan horse, of Aphrodite and the golden apple, and of the fearsome warrior women Amazons, accessible to contemporary young people.
From the Hardcover edition.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 20 more reviews...
 an excellent introduction to the epic! April 1, 2000
John Anderson (Bar Harbor, ME USA)
41 out of 42 found this review helpful
Having been brought up in a strong Classical background I was a little nervous of a "modern children's version" of the Illiad. I shouldn't have worried. I actually bought BLACK SHIPS for an undergraduate that I was tutoring on sources of modern British literature, but my 7 year old daughter took it away before I could get it to the college. I worried at first that Clare might be scared by some of the very dramatic pictures, but she was enthralled with the whole story and kept coming back to it for days afterwards. I should add that my undergrad was also entranced once I finnaly got it to her and felt that it compared very well with the complete translation of the original that we also read. New age? Hardly! This is a scholarly-but-fun-interpretaion of a gem.
Again and Again July 22, 2000
35 out of 37 found this review helpful
Both my husband and I love the Iliad and wanted our children to grow up with it. We have about eight versions of the Iliad at home, and while our children like all of them, the Sutcliffe is far and above the best -- it doesn't patronize, it loses very very little of the plot's narrative, ethical, or emotional complexity, and the reviewer who claimed that "moral messages" are lost must not realize that Homer himself, thank the Gods, moralizes very little and that everything that could reasonably be called by that slightly unenchanting term 'message' is well and alive in this version. Over the last two years, we have read it aloud to both children (now 6+7) at least five times, both have read it or in it by themselves as well, and neither we nor they have grown tired of it. It isn't an easy book to read for younger children, and they need their parents the first time around, but its relative difficulty prolongs its shelflife considerably -- I imagine our children will return to it for quite a few years. The rather dramatic art work is certainly not 'new age,' but neither does it classicize. It's made a great present for our children's friends. My only complaint is that it hasn't come out in paperback.
Excellent re-telling of The Iliad for children! September 24, 2002
Kathleen Funk (Austin, Texas USA)
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
Rosemary Sutcliffe keeps the drama and poetic language of Homer's "The Iliad" alive in this wonderful version. My 6- and 8-year-old children sat glued to their seats as I read this story to them. The causes of the Trojan War (The Golden Apple, Paris and Helen) are explained well, and the ensuing battles are depicted with vivid details. Alan Lee's illustrations are perfect for this story-- they give a clear idea of what is happening without being gory. My children loved this book, as did I. I heartily recommend it for a read-aloud, or even for an adult who hasn't read "The Iliad" by Homer. It's a wonderful introduction.
Rewarding read-aloud or read-alone book August 7, 2001
Colleen M. McQueen (Seattle, WA)
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
I am so grateful to have found this excellent version of the Iliad. The heroes, the action and the richness of the story are all maintained in this very accessible version of the classic. The story is broken into chapters that are each a good size for a bedtime read--although my 10 year old son pleaded for "1 more chapter" at the end of each one, and I continued because it is an enjoyable read-aloud. He finally took it himself and read it through. Any good listener who enjoys a rich story - age 7+ - would enjoy this as a read-aloud. Recommended.
A requirement for every child April 11, 2002
18 out of 20 found this review helpful
There are a few children's authors that are simply a must (Diane Stanley, Geraldine McCaughrean, Aliki, etc), and Rosemary Sutcliff is one of them! The late Ms. Sutcliff has simply written the best version of the Illiad out there for children. Beginning with the wedding of Achilles' parents, the book covers all the major events of the Illiad including; the resulting dispute between the three Goddesses over the Golden apple, the judging by Paris, his departure with Helen, the hiding and finding of Achilles, and on, and on. Beautifully illustrated, every child should have one.
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