Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Book Review: Modern Rhymes About Ancient Times

We all enjoy this series of fun historical poems by Susan Altman and Susan Lechner. Star chose this one from the Ancient Greece book as copywork today to go with our history topic of Greek gods:

Zeus

Mighty Zeus was king of the gods.
Poseidon ruled the sea.
Hades ruled the underworld.
They were the reigning three.

Zeus controlled the weather,
With power, good and bad!
He'd throw his mighty thunderbolts
Whenever he got mad.

Though mighty Zeus was king of gods
Revered all over Greece,
His wife, the goddess Hera,
Would never give him peace.

Whenever Zeus was gone too long,
His wife would fume and fuss,
'Cause back in Greece, the ancient gods
Had problems, just like us.

OK, it may not be great literature, but the poems are catchy, fun and educational. The books are colourfully illustrated and include pronunciation guides. So far we have the Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece books, but I'm hoping next year's book budget will allow us to add the other two in the series - Ancient Rome and Ancient Africa.

2 comments:

Mary G said...

Kathryn,

There was a hilarious poem about British monarchy and history (in book form) that I got from the library last year.

Do you remember what it's called?

The Bookworm said...

The only thing I can think of (and it doesn't sound as though it is the book you found) is Kings and Queens by Eleanor Farjeon. I found this sample online:

George I

George the First, when he was young,
Couldn’t speak the English tongue;
In Hanover, where he was born,
He spoke in German night and morn.

George, George, in England they
Want you for their King to-day!
Say you will, with heart and soul!-
George, delighted, said Jawohl!

George the First, till he was dead,
Still his prayers in German said.
Wasn’t that a funny thing
For one who was an English king?

Sound familiar?