I picked this book up in the library the other day as it appealed to me on two levels. One, it is written by Anthony Horowitz (author of the Alex Rider series, the Diamond brother series, Granny, Gorsham Grange etc) so I knew that it would be good. Secondly, it had the Minotaur on the front cover, and seeing as I am doing Ancient Greeks at the moment, I thought it would potentially be a good one to recommend to the children in my class. Needless to say, it did not disappoint.

Horowitz takes us to six ancient civilisations: Greek, Chinese, Roman, Bororo Indaon, Inca and Celtic. I love the weird and wonderful legends, particularly the exceedingly odd ‘Geriguiaguiatugo’ from Bororo Indian culture. It’s about this young man called Geriguiaguiatugo who harms his mother. His father, who suspects him of this horrible deed, gives him quests which he hopes will end up killing him. Geriguiaguiatugo ends up on the top of a cliff deserted. Inevitably he becomes weak and vultures attack him. They end up eating his bottom (yes, I said bottom) which he later goes on to try and ‘fix’ by making some new cheeks out of sweet mashed potato (yes, I said sweet mashed potato). Veeery strange. But entertaining. See below Geriguiaguiatugo being carried off by the vulture, minus his butt cheeks.

A great read, particularly if you like reading short stories, or if you find it challenging to remember story lines through longer books. It would be great for anyone in KS2.