The Heroic Adventure of Hercules Amsterdam Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I bought this book to read to my 6-year-old daughter before bed and was surprised to find that I was still reading it long after she was asleep.It is a magical story that creates an impossible-yet somehow completely believable-world where mice and rats and ants live in very different kinds of societies between the walls.The characters are compelling and unexpected, and the story line moves at a pace that will keep even the most reluctant reader begging for more (turns out not to be such a great before-bed story because of all of the pleas for "one more chapter!").
More than a brilliantly-told story about an imaginary world, though, Hercules Amsterdam is also a quiet commentary on our own society, on the moral choices people make each day (do we tell our children the truth about the world or keep them in blissful innocence? How should you respond to violence?), on what it means to stand up for ideals, and for the power of knowledge and friendship.The characters-from tiny, lost Hercules to the funny and off-beat Juna Loch and the loving mice-offer children models of how ordinary people can be heroic, about the ways creative and thoughtful creatures can triumph over the strong or cruel.Melissa Glenn Haber never pesters the readers with moralizing, but this story raises complex moral issues just the same.Parents, buy this book for your children, and, in addition to a wonderful story, you will have amazing things to talk about together.But know that this world in-between the walls is likely to call to you, too (especially if you've been captured by the Harry Potter books), so plan on setting aside some time to read Hercules Amsterdam yourself.

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