The Thrifty Guide to Ancient Greece is a fun book. It introduces the reader to many social, historical, and literary aspects of Greek culture, while not delving heavily into any one subject. This approach gives the reader a high-level overview of the subject which could spark an interest in one particular facet for further study or enjoyment, a strategy that I think makes it a particularly good read for children.

This book is well-written. The language is witty, the jokes are funny, and the subject is thoroughly-researched. The stories and topics were obviously selected to appeal to children due to either their shocking or funny nature or, in a very few cases, simple gross-out factor, but they are so interesting and unusual that an adult can enjoy them as well. In addition to the major events of Greek history, minor side-items are included that even adults will likely find new and informative, unless the adult is an expert in ancient history.

Since the book is told in the form of a time-travel tour guidebook, it also contains a few tid bits of future “history” and references to events after ancient Greece. It includes footnotes about products offered by the time-travel business and some notes from the CEO. Overall, these are funny, but at points, the notes referencing the CEO’s greed and shady dealings, or the poor working conditions at the corporation, are tiresome. The clever digs at corporate corruption are snicker-worthy, but after a few of them, the reader may feel that the point has been made and enough is enough. Also, it seems unlikely that children, who make up the target audience, will understand the references or find them nearly as funny as do the adults who find their way to this book.

Overall, this is a good book, which may inspire children to find out more about this history stuff. Adults who read it will probably enjoy it, as well.

Review of an Advance Reader Copy

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Viking Books for Young Readers

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language: 2 religious exclamations.

Violence/Gore:  Many historical characters are killed; a character threatens to kill another; martial arts contests are held; laws are written in human blood; students are hit with sticks as discipline; slaves are hunted and killed for sport; boys are whipped for entertainment; several references to how a character could be killed in ancient Greece; characters wear helmets made of decapitated animal heads; reference to wiping up blood with a towel; people and animals die of exhaustion; many (tens or hundreds of thousands) of people die in battles; a character is nearly killed in an athletic event; characters are whipped; a decapitated head is displayed on a pole; citizens, including children and babies, are killed and cities/property destroyed in war; a character’s hands are chopped off; a building is damaged by an explosion; a character is beaten and tortured before being killed; a parent tries to kill their child with a sword; a few characters commit suicide; a character dies of disease; a character is poisoned. References to disturbing social practices such as: exposure/killing of infants; disciplining children by exposing them to the elements; older children beating up younger children as punishment; eating a food made out of blood. Mythological stories contain things such as: A character eats another character whole; a character’s head is split open. 

Note:  All violence and gore is in a historical context, not described as if it is happening, like violence in a fiction work would be, and none is detailed or graphic.

Sex/Nudity:  Mention of someone looking for a date; children are naked as part of discipline (no sexual connotation); characters exercise and compete in sports naked (mentioned a few times); a female character in an illustration wears a top that almost reveals her breast; a character runs down the street naked; a thirteen-year-old girl is married; a male historical character has a boyfriend; a character has a few wives and hundreds of concubines. Mythological stories contain: Incest (among deities); marital infidelity with many partners.

Mature Subject Matter:

Infanticide, gender discrimination, child abuse, slavery, corporate greed (numerous jokes about this), war, fortune telling, theft, assassination, underage marriage (brief mention), homosexuality (brief mention), piracy, kidnapping, torture, starvation, disease.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Brandy and rat poison is used as a medication; adults drink wine and beer; one character is an alcoholic.