I Am Hermes!

February 11, 2019
The versatile Gerstein (I Am Pan!) uses comic-style panel artwork to tell the life of the Greek messenger god Hermes. Golden Hermes is born with a head of curly hair and the cupidity of a newly minted movie star: “The world!... I love it! I want it all!” Apollo, his older brother, shows Hermes his herd of crumple-horned cows, and the prodigy is seized with envy. Switching their hooves back to front and luring them away is good fun until he’s found out. “Were they meowing, led by a diapered infant with wings on his hat?” an old man replies when Apollo questions him. In later chapters, Hermes grows up (at the order of his father, Zeus, and in the space of a single page), marries and becomes a father, intervenes in the Olympian deities’ love lives, and guides Aesop’s storytelling career. The sequential artwork sparkles with energy and color, and Gerstein excels at capturing the expressions of the gods, from the grouchy Zeus to the odd, misshapen, many-eyed servant god Argus. In this raucous graphic novel fun fest, any educational value is purely coincidental. Ages 8–12.

February 15, 2019
Gerstein follows up I Am Pan! (2016) with an account of the pranks and exploits of the goat-footed god's equally free-spirited father.Bursting with self-confidence, golden from helmet to winged sandals, and, on the cover at least, sprayed with sparkles, Hermes literally outshines a multihued, caricatured supporting cast of gods, demigods, mortals, and monsters parading through the loosely drawn sequential panels. The boasting begins with his birth, first word ("GIMME!"), and--still but 1 day old--invention of the lyre from a tortoise shell and theft of Apollo's cattle by turning their hooves around so they can't be tracked. Charming his way out of punishment (and leaving Apollo happily strumming a cowboy song on the lyre), he goes on as messenger of the gods to hoodwink the nasty twin giants Otus and Ephialtes, become a father and a grandfather, rescue Hera's friend Io from the monster Argus (a knobbly, pitch-black boojum studded with eyes), bestow on Aesop the art of telling fables, and, as the other gods fade into retirement, ultimately find a bright new outlet for his particular talents: "The Internet!" It's a selective account, with all of Hermes' amorous adventures except the wooing of Penelopeta (Pan's mom) skipped over and the violence of the author's classical source material dialed down enough to, for instance, leave Argus alive and the giants not slaughtered but tricked into a permanent bout of arm-wrestling. Admitting in a closing note to a bit of embellishment (no kidding), Gerstein caps this rollicking revel with a short but scholarly resource list.A highflying mythological memoir alight with joie de vivre. (Mythology. 7-11)

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Starred review from May 1, 2019

Gr 2-4-This hilarious graphic novel, a follow-up to I Am Pan!, follows the Greek messenger god from birth to modern times. Vignettes feature Hermes alongside Zeus, Apollo, Pan, Iynx, and Aesop, and other characters. As the book opens, Hermes is born to Zeus and Maia. The young god is colored completely golden, including his diaper, except for his blue eyes. The first word out of his mouth is "Gimme!" Hermes wants the world and everything in it. He tricks a turtle out of its shell and a ram out of its horns. Putting the two together, he invents the lyre, the first instrument, and sings the first song. He then lures his big brother Apollo's precious cows away. After being reprimanded by Zeus, Hermes is forced to grow up, literally, and become a man. Over time he starts a family, and when everyone else retires, he adapts his skills as a messenger for the digital age, delivering emails, photos, and more around the world. With distinct art and side-splitting dialogue, Gerstein's Greek mythology adaptation is unique and appealing. An author's note and bibliography are included. VERDICT A stellar addition for most collections, especially where I Am Pan! circulates well.-Marissa Lieberman, East Orange Public Library, NJ

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2019
Grades 2-5 Episodic stories in jaunty, playful, and scribbly artwork recount a variety of myths about Greek god Hermes, from his origin to the gift of his winged sandals to his reputation as a trickster. Gerstein infuses these stories with ample humor, largely fueled by Hermes' outsized ego and a permissive attitude about his mischievousness. Sketchy, colorful, naive-style illustrations play up the humor with exaggerated facial expressions and slapstick antics go with cartoonish dialogue, which are all right at home in the large-format comics panel layouts. The most interesting chapters emphasize Hermes' connection to cultural touchstones, such as Aesop's fables, and modern symbols, such as the iconic caduceus and the prevalence of images of Hermes on postage stamps and logos of delivery companies. The final vignette, connecting Hermes' domain over communication to the internet, might sail over young ones' heads, but it's a thought-provoking notion that might make the Greek deity seem more relevant. Kids interested in Greek mythology who aren't quite ready for George O'Conner's Olympians series should get a kick out of this.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)