Read Aloud Thursday: Island of the Minotaur

It’s time for another Read Aloud Thursday!  Although we are reading many other things, I’m sharing with you our history read aloud from last week.  Island of the Minotaur by Sheldon Oberman is full of Greek myths that give a history of the island of Crete.

If you ask Bug, he’ll say he loved this book. It’s full of adventure and monsters and heroes.  What 7 year old boy wouldn’t love it?  I can’t say that I loved it, but it was definitely a fun read.  Mr. Oberman did a fantastic job of bringing the myths down to a level that could be enjoyed by older elementary age children. 
The book is mostly text with an illustration thrown in every couple pages.  The illustrations are a bit odd and exaggerated, but fun and interesting as well.
This was an enjoyable way to learn some of the history of Crete.  Little is known about the ancient history.  The last chapter of the book gives a true-life account of the man who discovered most of what we do know about ancient Crete.
I must put in this disclaimer though.  There are some violent and gruesome parts to some of the stories. It is not intended for young children.  At 7, Bug is probably at the young end and only because he is not especially sensitive to the type of violence that it contains.  It is not overly descriptive, and could probably be censored out, but it is there.