The Epically Awesome Odyssey

The Epically Awesome Odyssey, as told by Nanny Piggins. R.A. Spratt, Penguin Random House 2026. MG Paperback RRP $16.99. ISBN: 9781761622472

Reviewed by Debra Williams

This is the latest in the Nanny Piggins series, the glamorous pig who ran away from the circus. Nanny commandeers an ancient Greek myth--The Odyssey!--and relates it to her charges, the Green children, as a continuing storyline each day. But, according to Nanny, Homer totally left out the fact that Odysseus was a staggeringly beautiful woman and a pig, and she sets the record straight. Nanny reveals what really happened 3,000 years ago on the most epically awesome journey of all time, if she can be believed.

This is a fun and humorous take on the old Greek  mythology, but told with much chocolate, hot chocolate and cake - a bit too much, in fact! The chocolate permeates almost every part of the story, with chocolate cake even ending up being used to build a boat for Odysseus, who has now been away from her home for over 20 years. She and her crew face man-munching monsters, Greek gods with rage issues, sirens brandishing cake batter to tempt sailors to their doom and a forbidden sausage sizzle on the Island of Helios.

However, there are a couple of points to watch out for. There is a contradiction between pages 75-76, where Nanny is described on page 75 as being four-feet tall and with legs only one-foot long (Imperial measurement). However, on page 76 the children walk 17 kilometres to school (metric). When Odysseus ends up in Hades, there are scenes with the dead, which some young readers may find disturbing. In another chapter, on page 166, there is a description of Greek princesses fighting with each other and indulging in nipple crippling, which others may feel is not appropriate for the readership age group.

The Epically Awesome Odyssey is described as suitable for readers 10+ years of age.