Hercules: The Twelve Labors: A Greek Myth by Paul Storrie, illustrated by Steve Kurth

Fans of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief series may enjoy this Paul Storrie full-color graphic novel about the twelve labors of Hercules.  The strength of this version on Sora is the Lerner’s Audisee format  that gives the reader the option to hear the novel read aloud,  while simultaneously in the text each sentence is highlighted in red.  This feature helps make Hercules accessible to anyone who finds names like “Erytheus” and “Hippolyta” tricky to pronounce.  

Renderings of the monsters that Hercules encounters are highlights of the illustrator’s otherwise serviceable  art.  Yet ELA teachers may wish to assign this text because of its accessibility,  and both ENL students and developing readers could benefit from the audio support.--Jessica Fenster-Sparber