Gormless Gods and Hapless Heroes

Bright Kid, Dim Demi-God

The setup is pretty standard. Tim and his widowed Mom are making do, with Tim soldiering on at school and chipping in at home. While helping with the housework he breaks a valuable ancient urn and, surprise, that releases an imprisoned Hercules, who immediately resolves to help Tim out, (with housework, school, bullies, and minotaur fighting), whether Tim wants help or not. Lots of possibility here, much of it predictable.

But here's the thing. Tim is a great character, as is his Mom. And Hercules is a muscle-bound, sort of dense, but decent, hoot. Only Tim can actually see Hercules, so again, all of the usual complications ensue.

While this is a fairly shopworn premise, it isn't if you are a new chapter book reader, and have never read it before. Anyway, as long as the author handles the setup well I don't see that as a problem or as detracting from the pleasure and fun of the read. And our author does a fine job. The writing is direct and clear. The story is well paced and moves along crisply and clearly. There are some little jokes, and the big set scenes, (Hercules trying to clean the kitchen the same way he cleaned the Augean Stables), work as sly inside jokes and as just funny bits.

But here's something that gets overlooked, and that I thought really added to this book's charm and appeal. Tim always levels with his Mom on what's going on, and she always gives him the benefit of the doubt. Tim doesn't hide that he broke the urn. Mom doesn't treat Tim as a liar or dope when Tim explains the deal with Hercules. There is a lot of trust, love, understanding, and mutual support in this family, without ever being preachy or coy or weird. How's that for a bonus in a book that's still mostly silly in an amible sort of way?

So, we get a great kid, a dim but still heroic Hercules, some suspense, some drama, a lot of silly business and a happy ending in a well written and well crafted packge. Not bad at all. A happy find. (This appears to be the first book in an intended series. Fine by me.)

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

I received a digital copy of this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Gormless Gods and Hapless Heroes: Tim Baker and the Ancient Curse is a middle grade novel written by Stella Tarakson and illustrated by Nick Roberts.

Tim Baker is a fairly typical elementary school boy, but some of the kids at school tease him by calling him Cinderella because he has to clean his house after school to help his widowed mother. One day, while cleaning up, Tim knocks over an ancient vase- releasing Hercules into the living room. Yes, that Hercules!

Hercules is friendly, and wants to help Tim with his chores. This sounds great, right? A strong hero should be just what Tim need! Unfortunately, Hercules thinks the solutions to his famous Labors will also work for simple household chores. This makes a huge mess every time, and since Tim is the only one who can see Hercules, guess who gets blamed for the messes? Hercules is kindhearted, and he encourages Tim to stand up to a schoolyard bully.

The book is sprinkled with hilarious illustrations. Tim looks like a regular kid, but Hercules looks like a black-figure design from a vase. We all thought the illustrations were very funny, and they were a nice complement to the story.

I read this book with my three girls who are in the fourth and second grades at school. They absolutely loved this book. My oldest girl enjoys reading mythology stories, and she often knew what Hercules was going to do in advance. My twins are not as familiar with mythology, but they cackled with laughter just as loudly as their big sister.

I would absolutely recommend Gormless Gods and Hapless Heroes: Tim Baker and the Ancient Curse. The story ends on quite a cliffhanger; this appears to be the first book in a series, and we are all excited to find out what is going to happen to Tim and Hercules next! Well done, Stella Tarakson!

An excellent introduction to the Ancient Greek Gods
I thoroughly enjoyed this children's story in which young Tim Baker inadvertently releases Hercules from his entrapment in an Ancient Greek vase.
The author uses the story to teach children about the Ancient Greek Gods and in my opinion it worked. Hercules "helps" Tim with a few of his problems before finding his way back to Ancient Greece.
The Title of the Book is a really good one showing the use of alliteration at its best and will no doubt increase its appeal to youngsters. The title is so memorable.
Firmly at the centre of the book is the family. Tim and his Mum are a happy family unit despite the death of Tim's Dad (we are not told how or when he died) and Hercules too wants to return to his family.
The author also builds certain values into the storyline which will find favour with parents: the work ethic (Tim's Mum has two jobs to keep the family's head above water); housework is not just for adults; if you're being bullied use your brain rather than brawn against it (by reporting it to an adult); creative writing can be a career choice; children deserve to be listened to, even when they seem to fantasising and should never fear telling the truth.
But will the targeted age group (10 year olds or thereabouts) enjoy and learn from this book? That's the crucial question. Complete with some excellent supportive artwork by Nick Roberts and an appealing storyline, I think that they will. It's just the right length: relatively short. I assume that the author plans other books in a series about the Gods of Ancient Greece no doubt introducing new characters which children can learn about. I should add that Tim's Dad did his wife and son no favours by not having taken Life Insurance. Maybe this is a message for parents.

Funny book that would be appreciated by lovers of Wimpy Kid, with some basic information on Greek mythology mixed in. Poor Tim thinks he's been lucky enough to find a genie when he accidentally breaks his mum's vase but sadly not - a rather dumb Greek god appears instead, Hercules. He tries to get Hercules to help with his household jobs with disastrous consequences.

A good start to a new series , Middle Grade age kids would really enjoy this, the illustrations are amusing and I like the way that most of them are cartoon like with Hercules still keeping the black silhouette that he had on the vase. Great fun for younger readers.