"I've just finished 12 weeks of teaching lessons from this book and what a wonderful experience it has been. I sort of knew the Odyssey before starting out on what felt like a bit of an Odyssey of my own, however I didn't know the stories very well. Although at first the task of learning the stories seemed like a truly grueling feat, it slowly became one of my favourite parts. Of course you don't have to learn the stories you can read them, but being able to act them out dramatically whilst telling the children was a lot of fun and the kids were utterly mesmerised. I couldn't believe how they remembered week to week every one of those impossible to pronounce ancient Greek names along with everything they had done and said.

The philosophical enquiries gave them (and me) a brilliant way of engaging with the story on a host of different levels. They were able to explore problems with the story and characters, face the dilemmas being faced by Odysseus and his men and decide what should happen next. We covered geography (some of them excitedly discovering they came from, or had been to, somewhere very close to where Odysseus had been), poetry, history, drama and so many fascinating philosophical issues such as happiness, free will, identity and even politics."