Olympusville

by Ron Koertge

Overview

Imagine a heaven populated by familiar Greek gods. Sexy Aphrodite, gorgeous Adonis, Ares the warmonger, Artemis the huntress, wise Athena, bitter Demeter, and the like. But imagine also each of these denizens of Olympus stepping forward and revealing qualities that any reader can recognize: Hades, ruler of the underworld, lovesick for Persephone. Baffled Hephaestus, god of fire, husband of Aphrodite who can’t keep her clothes on. Add a defiant Sisyphus and a cadre of grumpy water nymphs and those are only some of the inhabitants of Olympusville—a fantastic and, in the hands of poet Ron Koertge and illustrator Alicia Kleman, endlessly intriguing world. Featuring 16 black and white ink illustrations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781597091084
Publisher:	Red Hen Press
Publication date:	05/01/2018
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	6.80(w) x 9.70(h) x 0.20(d)

About the Author

Ron Koertge teaches at Hamline Universityin their low-residency MFA program for Children’s Writing. His recent books of poetry include Fever (Red Hen Press, 2007), Indigo (Red Hen Press, 2009), Lies, Knives, and Girls in Red Dresses (Candlewick Press, 2012), The Ogre’s Wife (Red Hen Press, 2013), and Vampire Planet (Red Hen Press, 2016). Koertge also writes fiction for teenagers, including many novels and novels-in-verse: The Brimstone Journals, Stoner & Spaz, Strays, Shakespeare Bats Cleanup, Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs, and Coaltown Jesus. All were honored by the American Library Association, and two received PEN awards. He is the recipient of grants from the NEA and the California Arts Council and has poems in two volumes of Best American Poetry. He lives in South Pasadena, California.

Interviews

• Reader-friendly and should appeal to audiences both inside and outside the usual poetry-reading public, adults and YAs alike

• Title is accessible, humorous, and lighthearted and take classic Greek Mythology and place the characters in a relatable 20th century setting (much like the TV show Riverdale places the Archie characters into a modern day high school)

Title features 16 full page or full spread pen illustrations that add to the humor and understanding of the accompanying poetry

• Author is a prolific writer who has received a grant from the NEA and another from the California Arts Council

• Author belongs to an organization called SCBWI, a nationwide organization with thousand of members

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From the Publisher