The Labors of Hercules Beal
Author:
Gary D. Schmidt
Publication:
2023 by Clarion Books
Genre:
Fiction
Pages:
352
Current state:
Basic information has been added for this book.
It has been read but content considerations may not be complete.
Book Guide
Herc Beal knows who he's named after—a mythical hero—but he's no superhero. He's the smallest kid in his class. So when his homeroom teacher at his new middle school gives him the assignment of duplicating the mythical Hercules's amazing feats in real life, he's skeptical. After all, there are no Nemean Lions or Cape Cod—and not a single Hydra in sight.
Missing his parents terribly and wishing his older brother wasn't working all the time, Herc figures out how to take his first steps along the road that the great Hercules himself once walked. Soon new friends, human and animal, are helping him. And though his mythical role model performed his twelve labors by himself, Herc begins to see that he may not have to go it alone.
Award-winning author Gary D. Schmidt has created a warm and witty novel in the tradition of The Wednesday Wars about friendship, family, community, and healing.
From the dust jacket
To view an example page please sign in.
Gary D. Schmidt
1957 -American
Gary D. Schmidt is a professor of English at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He has written books about authors Katherine Paterson and Rob... See more
Please sign in for audiobook information.
Content Guide
Please sign in to access all of the topics associated with this book and view other books with the same topics.
Please sign in to access the locations this book takes place in and view other books in the same location.
For information about the lead characters please sign in.
Please sign in to access information about the content of this book that you may want to consider before reading.
Reviews
The Labors of Hercules Beal
Reviewed by Sara Masarik
Lt. Colonel Hupfer is brusque and unyielding but he is also thoughtful and caring. As Hercules’s homeroom teacher, he is the teacher with the most contact with this overwhelmed and grieving boy. And, as the humanities instructor, he is wildly creative in how he makes mythology meaningful for his class. At the beginning of the year he assigns to each of his students a unique year-long project that allows the student to connect with the material in a way that is consistent with their gifts and talents. One artistic student draws over one hundred maps from the myths. Another interviews every set of twins on Cape Cod. Hercules is to “make, do, perform, execute, accomplish” each of the twelve labors of Hercules.
The Labors of Hercules Beal
Reviewed by Janie Cheaney
The title character of The Labors of Hercules Beal works through his grief by duplicating, in contemporary terms, the 12 “labors” of his mythical namesake....
The Labors of Hercules Beal
Reviewed by Joly Herman
Parents need to know that there is a little language ("jackass") and a little gore (broken nose in a bloody fist fight, car crashes) in The Labors of Hercules Beal,...
The Labors of Hercules Beal
At once an epic journey toward self-discovery and a wonderfully entertaining yarn...
Find This Book
