At the very beginning of this book, before this story starts, there is a drawing of two modern children asking their grandpa for a story. In a word balloon, one says “Tell us the worst, the most horrible of all your stories.” That is a very good way to start the story of Oedipus. Author Yvan Pommaux tells the whole myth of Oedipus, from the terrible oracle that drives his father to abandon him to his tragic attempts to escape his terrible fate. It’s a challenging story to tell in a comic form, but Pommaux does it tastefully, with just a little bit of blood splashed about and the occasional skeleton. Still, this highly educational book gets readers ready to watch Sophocles’ most famous play, so it isn’t for sensitive readers.  

Oedipus: Trapped by Destiny is part of TOON books’ easy-to-read comics series, designed to help readers enjoy the story. The action is told mostly in pictures, with word balloons for speech and just a little bit of extra narration. All the names are written out like they sound when they first appear, and there’s a great visual index to help readers keep track of all the names and places. The entire book has a lot of scaffolding to help young readers practice inferential reading of both text and images. Responsible adults will also appreciate the pedagogical guide for visual reading on the last page that explains how to use the book to help their readers practice literacy skills. – Krishni Burns