This is the first book in Kate MaMullan’s Myth-o-Mania series, which retells Greek myths from Hades’ point of view. According to the ruler of the Underworld, his little brother Zeus has messed with Greek mythology to make himself look good, and it’s time for him (Hades) to set the record straight.

Have a Hot Time, Hades! starts at the beginning of Greek mythology, with the Titans taking charge from the first gods. Hades’ description of his and his Olympian siblings’ childhood in their dad’s stomach is surprisingly funny, and it really sets the tone of the series. After they escape and (eventually) boot Chronos out, they take over as the top gods of the universe. It’s a hilarious retelling. Zeus is a bragging cry-baby, Hera is a bossy know-it-all, and the war between the gods and titans is actually a massive soccer/football game. (Hades’ 100-armed uncles make great goalies.) The trick is, can we really trust Hades’ version of the story? I mean, is he really the brave, smart hero who always saves the day? He is Zeus’s brother, after all.  

As comic as this book is, the narrative sticks pretty close to the original myth. It’s got all the correct names and characters, which makes it a great, kid-friendly introduction to the origin story of the Olympian gods. There’s a more standard version of the myth at the end, so that readers can decide which version to trust. The series makes great classroom reading, too. There’s a pronunciation guide, discussion questions, and writing prompts in the back of the book. I’d recommend the whole series to kids who like mythology and teachers who are planning a mythology unit. It’s never too early to teach people that Zeus is not to be trusted. – Krishni Burns

* For further information on the Our Mythical Childhood Survey, please refer to the website of the project “Our Mythical Childhood” [link: http://omc.obta.al.uw.edu.pl/], led by Prof. Katarzyna Marciniak at the Faculty of “Artes Liberales,” University of Warsaw, Poland, with the participation of Bar Ilan University, University of New England, University of Roehampton, University of Yaoundé 1, and other affiliated scholars, within the funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (grant agreement No 681202).