Hercules and the Nine-Headed Hydra

Heroes in Training #16

by Tracey West, Craig Phillips (Illustrator)

Zeus and his friends are back for another adventure in this latest Heroes in Training chapter book!

Since defeating the Titans, Zeus and his fellow Olympians have taken over Mount Olympus. Things are nearly back to normal…until a stranger named Hercules shows up, asking for help. He’s on the run from Eurythseus, King of Argon, who is after Hercules for egging his temple.

Before Zeus can help, Eurythseus himself appears. It turns out that Hercules has also been bragging that he is the ruler of Olympus, and Eurythseus intends to declare war on the Olympians’ new home.

Zeus’s friends come up with an idea—maybe Hercules could make up for egging Eurythseus’s temple. The Oracle Pythia reveals that in order to do this, Hercules must get a scale from a huge, nine-headed serpent—the Hydra. Will this be enough to please Eurythseus? Or is another battle on the horizon for the Olympians?

Genres: Fantasy, Mythology, Middle Grade, Childrens

109 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 3, 2019

About the author

Tracey West is the New York Times bestselling author of Dragon Masters, a series in the Scholastic Branches line. She has written more than 400 books for kids, including the Pixie Tricks series and the Underdogs series with Kyla May.

Some readers also know Tracey for writing books based on animation such as Pokémon and LEGO Ninjago.

She currently lives in the western Catskills of New York with her husband, Bill; their adopted dogs; and a whole mess of chickens.

Reviews

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great choice for a young, intermediate reader who might have an interest in the Greek gods and goddesses from ancient myths. Very nice-sized font, approachable kid-friendly language and characters drawn as young people (teenagers) themselves, making them more relatable. I’d recommend even though the plot itself is a bit far-fetched! And the antics of young Hercules quite selfish and ridiculous!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine if the Greeks gods were 10 years old and that you were telling the story to an 8-year-old...that's what we have here. This one is a retelling of Hercules defeating the nine-headed Hydra in order to atone for grievances against him. The story is cleaned up so that there aren't illegitimate children or gory deaths, but the adventure element is still strong. Sometimes the diction is epic but the circumstances are like everyday life creating a humorous effect. Zeus is quite annoyed with Hercules braggadocious and arrogant behavior, and while Hercules doesn't quite learn his lesson, he and Zeus head out to complete Hercules' second act- stealing a belt from an amazon warrior- at the end of the book, setting the scene for book 17. A fun and clean introduction to ancient mythology. Hand this to a kid who loves to battle fierce monsters.

[Francesca · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was easily my least favorite in the series. It’s odd that Hercules and Zeus were working together as children. There was an odd conversation about Hercules not knowing his dad. Hercules also is a liar, thief and a bit of a jerk.

[Jason Liu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hey. A brilliant start to the second half of the heroes in training seriesZ

[Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hercules is annoying but he helps get the Hydra scale.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished reading this book with my son-He loves Greek myths and these stories keep him interested the whole time!

[Ria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly liked this one but Hercules is SOOO annoying. This is the only book I bought from this series.