Max and the Map

Homer's Odyssey for Children

By: Edward Alan Kurtz

Narrated by: Rayman Jilani

Length: 1 hr and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

A retelling, in a very simple and fun way, of Homer's Odyssey. Max and the Map was written by American writer Edward Alan Kurtz, a well-travelled author who has already written a variety of travel books. He spent many years living in Hawaii and now lives and writes in Thailand. As well as writing for the travel genre, the author has created many children's books, both fiction and nonfiction. His travels have given him great inspiration especially for his stories.

The story of Max and the Map is centered around a young boy, Max, and his two best friends, Kathy and Brad. The story begins with Max finding an old book at the library. At first he is unaware of its significance, but later on he discovers that it is full of old maps. Max shares his discovery with his two close friends and upon touching one of the book's maps, they are all suddenly transported to the Mediterranean Sea during the time of ancient Greece. The three begin an exciting adventure which turns out to be a journey that a very famous character has embarked on himself, Homer's Odysseus. How will they get back home to Ithaca, NY?

Max and the Map is full of thrilling twists and turns for the listener. It contains 15 chapters in total, all with curious titles to interest the listener. The book's literary features have been carefully researched and allow children to easily delve into the world of ancient Greece, as well as learn about a very famous epic poem.

©2013 Edward Alan Kurtz (P)2016 Edward Alan Kurtz

The Book Report

Rayman Jilani narrates this charming fantasy for children based loosely on elements of Homer's Odyssey. (He especially enjoyed the witches' cackling.) American children may have some difficulty with the charming (British) accent but parents can listen with their children and draw morals from a number of the activities.

Max and the Map - The Odyssey

After finding an old book of maps, Max and his 2 friends are "transported" to the Mediterranean Sea where they experience the events of Homer's Odyssey. This was a nice and simple version of the classic poem.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

Adventure to find in the Map!

Max found a book of maps at the library and checked it out, even if he wasn't fond of books. While looking at the book later, he and his friends seemed to fall into the map and found themselves visiting places on the map. These places will seem familiar to anyone familiar with The Odyssey. To the reader not familiar with The Odyssey, this is a great introduction to the classic book and no prior knowledge of The Odyssey is needed.

The narrator is easy to listen to. There are even sound effects to make the book come alive to the young listener. I enjoyed listening to this rewritten story and have already recommended it to a friend.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

Cute kids story

This is the first book I’ve read/listened to by this author. It is an interesting take on Homer’s Odyssey.

Max and his friends travel unexpectedly to the Mediterranean Sea and come to realize they have been transported by the map. At each island they meet the characters in Homer’s Odyssey. Unlike Homer, they are never in mortal peril. The interactions are very tame and cleverly rewritten for a young audience. Being a short story, there is not a lot of details to their travels, and the story moves along quickly. I think this would help to keep a young listeners attention.

This is the first book I’ve listened to by this narrator ( Rayman Jilani ). He did ok reading this story, but there’s room for improvement. The kids voices were not discernible. Music was played at the beginning and end of each chapter that was unnecessary. There were sound effects during the book as well. They occasionally overpowered the narration, but were not too disruptive or as annoying as many other kids books with added sound effects.

There are no explicit sex scenes, excessive violence or swearing. This is appropriate for young kids- maybe 10 and up?

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this unbiased review.
Please feel free to comment on whether you found my review helpful.