In Search of a Homeland: The Story of the Aeneid

I recently finished reading Rosemary Sutcliff's "Dark Ships Before Troy" and "Odysseus' Wanderings" to my six year old son and it seemed only natural that we continue with this thread by reading a children's version of the Aeneid. Penelope Lively's "In Search of a Homeland" was a natural choice. All three books are put out by the same publisher and are geared towards the same young adult readership. Thus the narrative flowed almost seemlessly between the three books. Penelope Lively is a skilled writer and her story is firmly rooted in the Homeric structure Sutcliff recreates in her two books. Having finished this third book of the Trojan War triology, I think the real value of the Aeneid is that it creates this mythic bridge between the Greek and Roman worlds. Before starting "Dark Ships Before Troy" we read numerous books of Greek Mythology to help set the stage for the Iliad. Having finished "In Search of a Homeland", I think it will be a lot easier to transition into the study of the Roman world. Vergil's Aeneid is a great poem and worthy of study for that alone. Yet for young children, I think the real value of the Aeneid is more as a bridge between two great civilization. Highly recommended.

In Search of a Homeland by Penelope Lively In Search of a Homeland is a dramatic story that includes life, death, passion, romance and bravery. The three main characters interact in a way that keeps my interest throughout the entire book. The story of the ancient Romans, originally written by Virgil, is a fabulous tale to read. I think the author did an excellent job retelling the story of the Aenied so you can understand it better. Development of the main characters is well done. Penelope Lively, as she retells Virgil's story, handles each character sufficiently. Aeneas, Turnus and Dido are compelling character who are captivating. Aeneas from Troy is finding a new homeland for his people. Aeneas is a great leader. He is fearless as well as a excellent fighter. Turnus is Aeneas' enemy who is from the city Latin. Dido is the queen of Carthage who falls in love with Aeneas. The plot is exciting and fascinating. The author starts out telling about the fall of Troy and the Trojan horse. Aeneas leads the survivors out of Troy moving toward Italy. They stumbled upon many dangers along the way. They come to Carthage and sailed on to Latin and for a massive battle. I thought the battle scenes were a little difficult to follow. It was hard to understand what was going on and where everyone was. One of the central ideas in this book is that no one listened to the warnings to not bring the Trojan horse in the city of Troy, but should instead burn it. The Trojan horse was brought into the city anyway. The second idea is that gods and goddesses are not reliable. They did not save Troy, but instead let Troy burn. I highly recommend this book if you are studying Ancient Troy and Rome. It is not a boring book to read because of all the crazy ancient methods. The author made it easy to understand and follow. It is also a wonderful book for reading out loud to the family. By Joy Penwrite

THis was a huge hit with my 8 year old-- he read it by himself. I haven't read it yet but browsed through: the pictures are lovely. Now I feel like he has more of a handle on this ancient literature than I do! Recommend

I read this book for school. It was really good! Fairly easy to read, very simple, but interesting. I recommend this book to anyone who likes ancient Romans,Greeks,or Greek myths. 5-star!!!

Ian Andrew illustrates In Search Of A Homeland, a story of the Aneid and a tale of war which will appeal to any student of Greek mythology and history. Chapters present the story with plenty of illustration and color: it's hard to peg the readers and age group of this title, which will reach from grades 5-8.