Aphrodite & the Gold Apple

Little Goddess Girls #3

by Joan Holub, Suzanne Williams, Yuyi Chen (Illustrations)

Join little Aphrodite for a sweet adventure in this third Little Goddess Girls story—part of the Aladdin QUIX line!

Aphrodite is excited to be on an adventure to Sparkle City with her new friends, Athena, Persephone, and Artemis. After being rescued from her magical sea shell, Aphrodite hopes the super-duper powerful Zeus can give her the gift of likeability. Aphrodite knows that will make her be a better friend, especially to the girls she met on the Hello Brick Road. But when she finds a magical, gold apple along the way, something makes her keep it a big secret from the others. Will those magical powers help Aphrodite with her big ask for Zeus? Or will Aphrodite discover a very different kind of magic—the magic of friendship—is most important of all?

Genres: Childrens, Mythology

96 pages, Paperback

Published January 21, 2020

About the author

NY Times bestselling children's book author:
GODDESS GIRLS series + HEROES IN TRAINING series (w Suzanne Williams); THIS LITTLE TRAILBLAZER a Girl Power Primer; ZERO THE HERO; I AM THE SHARK. Lucky to be doing what I love!

Reviews

[Andrea Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great third book continuing the wizard of Oz meets mount Olympus theme. Still bummed I haven’t read the first book. These really should be read in order.

[Harumichi Mizuki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meskipun suka ngomong nyelekit, Aphrodite cerdik. Dia berhasil mengelabui Medusa yang mau menculik Athena yang sedang tertidur bersama Persephone di ladang bunga poppy. I just wanna say... thanks, God I haven't watched The Wizard of Oz nor read it, haha.

Mereka lalu bertemu Artemis yang... sangat penakut. Wuah. Artemis ikut bersama rombongan karena dia berharap Zeus bisa memberinya keberanian. Aphrodite lalu menemukan apel emas yang berkilau di dekat pohon tempat mereka bertemu Artemis. Tadinya dia menyimpan apel itu untuk dirinya sendiri. Namun, rupanya apel itu alat agar mereka bisa masuk ke Sparkle City yang dilindungi kaca tinggi ajaib yang mencegah sihir seperti sandal bersayap itu untuk membawa masuk siapa pun yang berniat buruk ke Sparkle City. Karena itulah Medusa tak bisa memasukinya.

Aphrodite yang tadinya suka mengejek Artemis jadi luluh karena Artemis membantunya menyadari sisi baiknya.

[Gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Totally reimagined Greek mythology (gm) for younger girls. This is a mashup of gm and The Wizard of Oz where Aphrodite, Athena, Persephone, and Artemis take on the roles of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tinman, and the Cowardly Lion and journey to Sparkle City (“Emerald City”) to get some help from Zeus (“the Wizard of Oz”). The story ended before they see Zeus, so I’m figuring that’s in the next book.

As an adult who knows the original stories, the untraditional characters of these girls/goddesses took some getting used to. I had to tell myself it was just a story using the Greek goddesses’ names.

And then, the story became likable- just like Aphrodite (in the story).

Considering the smarts, teamwork, and kindness the girls show, plus the cute illustrations, girls will like this story, especially if they don’t know Greek mythology or The Wizard of Oz and are under 8.

[Vilma Diaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute read. It's a mix of Greek mythology and the Wizard of Oz. It's not mind blowing or anything, but its not bad. I like that so far each book has given us the perspective of a different character. It allows us to understand them and their motivations a little better. I won't be continuing with the series, but I don't regret picking it up.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty decent little book. Roughly the same reading level as Princess in Black but not as well written. Some cute ideas from Greek mythology and a little Wizard of Oz too. Black and white illustrations in each short chapter. Took about an hour to read aloud with two talkative kids age 6 and 8.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
A Wizard Of Oz take using Greek mythology. The series is geared towards 5-8 year old. The younger kiddos might find it interesting but I believe an 8 year old would get bored quick.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn’t able to get the second book, but these are so short and simple so I caught up very quickly. These are so cute!