Pandora Gets Jealous

Greek Mythology in a fun, captivating way!

I will be the first to admit, mythology is just not my thing. I know plenty of people who think it's all really fun and cool to read about, but honestly, I get everyone's names mixed up and I forget what their powers are or what they are famous for. But... Carolyn Hennesy may have changed my mind after reading Pandora Gets Jealous. Okay, so I don't know much about the story of Pandora except for what everyone knows and that is Pandora's Box. Carolyn Hennesy takes the story of Pandora opening the box but she makes Pandora your typical 13 year old only she is growing up in Ancient Greece. Yes, just as cool as it sounds! Pandora wants to be popular and she wants to be pretty and she of course wants to get the cute boy she has her eye on. She will do just about anything for all this to happen, even if it means bringing in "the box" that her father has forbid her from so much as touching. Well you can imagine what happens when Pandora brings it to school... one thing leads to another and the next thing you know, all the evils of the world are erupting on Athens. Pandora is in big trouble (obviously!) and is summoned to Mount Olympus where she is given the seemingly impossible task of recollecting all the horrors, oh yeah, and she only has 6 months to do it. As she sets off, she ends up with a rag tag team of friends helping her in search of jealousy. I was rooting for Pandora, or Pandy as they call her, the entire time and was left at the end of the book wanting to read the next book (Pandora Gets Vain). So if you like Greek mythology or even if it's just not your thing... I can almost guarantee you will have fun on Pandora's adventure!

Reading Level: GLE: 5.5
                        Lexile: 840L

Teachers: Here are some resources to help you teach this novel...

Web Resources:

• Teacher's Guide: This site offers discussion questions and project ideas for both Pandora Gets Jealous and Pandora Gets Vain.
• Pandyinc: Welcome to the world of Pandy. Learn about the author and all the other Pandy books.

Vocabulary: Here are some words I picked out: insolent, benevolence, vindictive, incongruous, pompous, summoned, beguiling, disposition, inept, ruminating, ambulate, prophecy, despondent, decipher, uncouth, intercede, tenaciously

Activities:
Above all... use this book (and others in the Pandy series) to help your kiddos get over how hard a mythology unit can be. You're going to have readers who don't warm up to the difficult language in myths or who get confused with all the gods and goddesses or simply don't like mythology... A book like this takes the difficulty out of mythology and eases them into a unit on mythology.

Before Reading: Read Greek Mythology's version of the Pandora's box myth (or a shortened version). Just google Pandora's Box for kids (or something like that) and tons of versions will come up.

During Reading: Journal/Discussion: Pandora's father is very angry with her for opening the box. What is something you have done that has made your parents upset with you?
How do you think Pandora is feeling after the box is opened? Why?

After Reading: Compare/Contrast the Greek myth of Pandora's box to Carolyn Hennesy's version. Which is easier to relate to? Which do you like more?

Hennesy, C. (2008). Pandora Gets Jealous. New York: Bloomsbury Children's Books.

Happy Reading (& Running) =)