Written by Lucy Coats, Illustrated by Brett Bean
Demon, short for Pandemonius, is Pan’s son who is living the life of an 11 year old in Greece, when Pan suddenly whisks him away to Olympus to care for the magical beasts. Demon loves animals and can speak to them, but he’s not happy about being taken away from his mom so suddenly.
There’s not a lot of background info on the Gods and Goddesses mentioned in the book, which can be problematic. There were a LOT of poo references, which while funny for some, gets old after the 3rd one. The illustrations were interesting, but they didn’t add a lot to the story. I gazed over them, but didn’t pay much attention to them as they weren’t important to the book.
There’s a pronunciation guide in the back of the book, which is helpful if you’re reading it aloud. It would’ve been a little nicer to have it in the front of the book where it’s easier to find, but it’s not a big deal.
I think this book would be a fun way to introduce Greek mythology, if you’re not interested in actual facts. A good intro to books such as the Percy Jackson series, where the Gods get a little bit more background info.
Review by Allyson Rolfe, Granger Elementary Media Center
Rating: ★★★✩✩ (3 stars)
Interest Level: Grades 3-5
Author Website: http://www.lucycoats.com/
Beasts of Olympus, Book 1
Beast Keeper
Written by Lucy Coats, Illustrated by Brett Bean
Grosset & Dunlap, an imprint of Penguin Group
135 pages
Release Date: January 8, 2015
