Susanna Leonard Hill has a feature on her blog called Perfect Picture Book Friday. It is a list of “perfect” picture books recommended by all sorts of people. I chose this book because I love the illustrations and I am a fan of mythology!
Clever Little Hermes
By Wes Sturdevant
Illustrated by Maza Vicanovic and Ozren Mizdalo
28 pages – ages 5+
Published by Story and Media, LLC on October 2, 2012
Theme/Topic – Mythology/ being responsible / math
Opening and Synopsis – Taken from the back cover –
“A fresh and fun retelling of the classic Greek myth about how a very young Hermes uses his wits (and some basic arithmetic) to pull a very clever prank on his older brother, Apollo.
Hermes soon realizes that pranks, no matter how clever, can have unexpected consequences, and he learns a lesson about taking responsibility for his behavior.”
Why I liked this book –First of all – I love this tale from mythology. It is one of my favorites, and I like that it has been re-told for a younger audience! I like that it teaches a bit of math (multiplication) using cows and the number of legs there are. The illustrations are beautiful and the characters are cute. The moral of the story, being responsible for your behavior, is very good and important for young people. 😀
Activities and Resources –
I tried to find a cow parts multiplication activity sheet and couldn’t so I asked for the help of my little sister Josie and we came up with our own. Josie did the artwork and I made the questions.
I really enjoy the red lipstick and pink earrings Josie added to the cow she drew. 😉 You can download the activity sheet as a pdf HERE.
To find more Perfect Picture Books please visit Susanna Hill’s blog HERE!
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Categories: Age 6-9
How great to make mythology accessible to children. Bravo, all around.
It’s a wonderful lesson to share with younger ones, the importance of taking responsibility for our behavior, and to enjoy getting it from a cute book. Thanks for the review.
You and your sister are a great pair. I love the worksheet! And new twists on mythology are fun. Thanks for sharing this.
Thanks Ms. Greenley! I’m glad you like my pick!
Ooo – math and mythology. Does that make it “Mathology”? So fun!
Okay there’s a poem for you Cathy!
LOL – OK Catherine. I’ve got dibs on that idea!
I would never steal it! Go for it :0)
I want to read it!
So funny, that was my daughter’s Odyssey of the Mind team’s heading last year – Mathology. You are taking me back. 🙂
~Cool Mom for Stanley & Katrina
Thanks Cool Mom! 🙂
HA HA HA HA!!! That is such a GOOD one Ms. Mealey!
What a talented family you are! That activity is fantastic and the book sounds great too.
Thanks Ms. Johnson! 😀
Very nice activity collaboration!
Thanks Ms. Zoch!
I like mythology too, so this book is of interest to me. Great collaboration with Josie. Not only is Josie an artist, tell her she has style. Love the red lipstick and pink earrings.
I will tell Josie you like her cow! Thanks Ms. Tilton!
Okay, hands-down best activity sheet EVER! That Josie is quite the artist! I love that cow! 🙂 And the story sounds like a fun one – I love mythology too – and I like the message. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks Ms. Hill! 🙂 We had fun doing it! I wish there were more kid-friendly mythology books!
Cool little kid mythology book. I love the cow math. It is was Cupcake math, it would be how many spots on 2 dogs like Cupcake. The answer would be TEN MILLION!! I am more spotty than the cow.
Love and licks,
Cupcake
Maybe we should make a Cupcake activity sheet!
Erik – you always find the most unique books – but now to have designed your own activity sheet – I think you and Josie could go into business!!!! What a hoot with the lipstick and earrings!! Too funny… and I couldn’t resist asking you…..How does a farmer count his cows? With a cowculator.
Hee hee! That’s a great joke Ms. Miller!
LOVE the activity today, Erik! And I am always up for some greek mythology!
Thanks Miss Marple! I wish there were more kid mythology books like this out there!
I love mythology and this book sounds great. I think it is awesome to try to get younger readers into mythology.
Great drawing and cow problems. 🙂
Thank you! I’m glad you like our activity!
What a clever little book! I don’t know much about mythology and this looks like a good book to get started with! We often do math lessons with my body parts. It works pretty well. I really like your cow math sheet!! You both did an excellent job! Y’all are so clever!
Thanks Rhythm! This is a clever little book! 😀
Okay now you are just getting too clever 🙂 This book is very cool, and your activity sheet is awesome. I wonder, Erik, if there are not that many books like this around, maybe sometime in the future you could write one, and Josie illustrate it. Now there’s an idea! 😉
Thanks Ms. Tulloch! You’re still more clever than us! We haven’t convince our parents to take us around the world yet! 😉
I loved your sister’s drawing of the cow, especially the humorous addition of the red lipstick and earrings. That cow has style!
Thanks Ms. Pickett! 😀
I love that you and Josie came up with the activity! Awesome!
Thank you! It was fun! 🙂