Author: Lucy Coats
Illustrator: Brett Bean
© Date: 2015
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Pages: 137
Chapters: Yes
Illustrations: Yes, many page layouts do not have an illustration
Publisher Recommended Age: 7-9 years
Bonus Activities at End of Book: Glossary and pronunciation guide
Summary from Book: Eleven-year-old Pandemonius-known as Demon-has been plucked from his quiet, normal life in a small Greek village to become the Beast Keepr for the Stables of the Gods on Olympus. The job, however, soon becomes much more than scooping up after the beasts. The warrior-hero Heracles has been causing havoc among the immortal creatures, and it’s up to Demon to save them.
Note: This review is done from memory. I originally read this awhile ago.
Page Pig Thoughts: These were enjoyable reads. While they bump into the scary category, mythology stories seem prone to that. I super appreciated the pronunciation guide at the end of the story. We learned a little about mythology as we followed the stories of Demon and the beasts. Page Pup thought these were okay. I may have liked them a slight bit better, but I was curious to see how the mythology was incorporated.
Use caution for younger or sensitive readers, the characters, illustrations, and content touch into the scary category.
Family Unit: Demon was living with his mother until his father, Pan, appears out of the blue and takes away Demon to be stable boy for the Gods
Conflict/Social Issues:
- Demon is sad to leave his mother.
- Previous stable keepers have not done a good job, so the beasts/animals are in need of clean stalls and proper food.
- Heracles keeps torturing/killing the immortal beasts on Earth so they need to be transported back to Mount Olympus to be revived.
- Demon is constantly threatened by gods/goddesses to do a good job or else be tortured for the rest of time. Even if there isn’t a current threat, he lives in fear of them.
- Demon still doesn’t really see much of Pan while he is on Mount Olympus.
Positive Items:
- Hooray for the glossary and pronunciation guide at the end, so helpful for reading these if you are not familiar with mythology.
- Demon is able to find ways to help the animals with his brain and a little bit of magic.
- Demon joyfully sits by his father at a feast feeling good that he made his father proud.
Items of Interest:
- Demon is able to communicate with animals, which is a useful skill.
- Demon uses a magic box from Hephaestus to help heal the animals.
- Demon has a magical coil with snakes that heal him when the beasts injure him.
- Demon is constantly threatened or feeling threatened by the goddesses and gods.
- Some potty humor is used when talking about the animal droppings.
- Heracles kills the immortal beasts while they are on Earth. With effort, they are revived back on Mount Olympus, but that doesn’t mean that they haven’t been skinned or otherwise.
- Several mentions are made throughout the series about the goddesses being concerned that the stable smell will make their laundry smell badly.
Other Books in Series (At Time of Posting):
- Book 2 – Beasts of Olympus: Hounds of Hades
- Book 3 – Beasts of Olympus: Steeds of the Gods
- Book 4 – Beasts of Olympus: Dragon Healer
- Book 5 – Beasts of Olympus: Centaur School
- Book 6 – Beasts of Olympus: Zeus’s Eagle
- Book 7 – Beasts of Olympus: Gods of the North
- Book 8 – Beasts of Olympus: The Unicorn Emergency