The Horn Book Guide

FOLKTALES AND NURSERY RHYMES

Gerstein, Mordicai

I Am Hermes!: Mischief-Making Messenger of the Gods

72 pp. | Holiday | April, 2019 | Trade ISBN 978-0-8234-3942-3 $18.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-0-8234-4203-4

(1) K-3 Following I Am Pan!, here comes Pan’s father, Hermes, the messenger god, eager to tell his own story. This Hermes is handsome, insouciant, impulsive, and bursting with self-esteem (his first word: “Gimme!”). These are bright, noisy, fast-moving adventures decorated with contemporary touches, and Gerstein proves himself a genius of the comics form, especially of the speech balloon, as he creates layered conversations, rich with interior monologue, gossip, and prevarication.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019