The Odyssey for iPad Review

The Odyssey for iPad is an enjoyable adaptation of the classic epic poem greatly simplified to suit the interests of children. Options include reading to oneself as well as having this story read with included narration, and one can choose a specific page from the "Scenes" mode, always a nice feature. Versions are available for both iPhone and iPad.

I remember studying The Odyssey in school, and I was intrigued when I first heard about this app, being very interested in what parts of the story these developers would choose to keep in order to make this story palatable for young children. The tale, about a soldier who spends years away fighting in a war and many years more making his way back to his family, is told here in a way kids will enjoy and be engaged by - a nice job indeed - since the original form is an epic poem of many, many verses, making it not kid-friendly in the least.

I appreciate how this app begins with an introduction by Homer himself, explaining a little about Greece and Greek Mythology in general.

Here, making his way back home, Odysseus face many obstacles and must contend with a one-eyed giant, Circe the sorceress who turns men into pigs and the Sirens song and battle the six headed monster Scylla, all of which creates an epic tail that is still easy for kids to follow and enjoy.

I am glad these plot points were chosen as they are some favorite moments of mine from this epic poem. I do wish that the cyclops was known as “a cyclops” meaning a type of giant with one eye, but instead, he is named "Cyclops" something that I, as a mythology geek, wished was a little more accurate as this is a discrepancy that I would have picked up even as a child, knowing that his name is really Polyphemus, a specific cyclops to this story. I am also a little disappointed to see that the cyclops was blinded with a rock to his eye instead of a sharpened stick, a detail I remember well as a favorite moment of mine from when my mother read Greek myths to me as a child. It is possible that the developers thought impaling the cyclops in the eye is a little too intense for their book, and I understand this point-of-view.

Odysseus and his men also meet Circe, who here turns all but Odysseus to pigs, and I really like how this storybook handles such a scary and bizarre thing to do. Her cackling may be a little on the scary side for the very young, but will delight older pre-schoolers, grade schoolers and beyond. In this app, Odysseus demands the turning back of his men, and Circe complies. Although very different from the original poem, Odysseus’s protest makes for a very nice cinematic moment in the storybook that I enjoy.

I also really like the inclusion of the sirens, another favorite part of the original poem. I think about the siren’s song in my daily life when I am tempted off course myself, and it makes me happy that kids who read this app will now fully understand this reference if they ever come across it elsewhere. Also nice is how Odysseus and his men must sail between two sea monsters, and chooses to sail closer too and battle Scylla, a six-headed beast, in the interest of avoiding the whirlpool creature Charybdis who would sink their ship for sure. Again, this adventure is simplified for use in a children's app, but this scene adds some nice moments of drama, action and suspense that I really enjoyed.

This tale for kids makes no note of the suitors looking to marry his wife Penelope as most thought Odysseus was dead after all these years, but I have enjoyed the story as these developers tell it and I think their choices in the interest of simplification make sense. The plot is linear and easy to understand, complete with fun anime-influenced illustrations, which also contains some nice animated elements, giving this visual style some nice depth and detail. A good use of music is also of note here, really adding to the mood of this appication. The adventures here are memorable and exciting – a storybook that will surely engage its readers.