What a lovely little book for younger readers, subtly introducing them to the world of myth, but maintaining a contemporary setting. Making Hercules a buffoon not only affords comic escapades but his boasts allow the author to parse sections of legends enough for children to want to find out more for themselves.

By having his mum working hard out of the house it also lets the story proceed but additionally gives a poignant message to other kids who don't get the time they'd like with a parent.


Clever, witty, with a cool cliffhanger for book 2.

This is a great start to a book series that introduces kids to Greek mythology. My daughters loved me reading it to them. It is fun and engaging.

Tim Baker's mom has to work two jobs, so he has to help out at home. He does some of the housework and helps in the garden and does what he can until his mother sells her stories and becomes a published writer. But when he accidentally breaks her antique Greek vase, his whole life gets turned upside down. 

The broken vase released Hercules, who had been trapped there by Hera. He was so grateful to Tim for releasing him that he offers to help out with the chores. With Hercules to help, those household chores will get done in no time! Only, following directions isn't really his thing. So once the garden has been destroyed and then set on fire, once the tiger rug has been ripped almost in two, once Tim has lost all patience with his new hero friend, he decides that Hercules maybe doesn't need to help him with the chores any more. 

Through the next few days, Hercules "helps" Tim with his school bully, steals all of his classmates' snacks, sweeps the house, and cleans the kitchen after making a huge mess of pancakes, and Tim isn't sure how to survive his friendship with Herc. He's in trouble with his mom for what happened to the garden. He's in trouble at school. His bully is extra mad at him and promising revenge. And worst of all, Tim's mom's story got rejected again. 

Tim notices that there is some writing on the vase, once he glued it back together. He can't read it because it's in Greek, and Hercules refuses to read it to him. Herc's depressed because he just wants to go home to his wife and daughter. But Tim keeps thinking that it's important, and if he could just figure out what it says, he could find a way to turn everything around. Can he do it? 

Hopeless Heroes: Here Comes Hercules! is a charming early chapter book for kids around 7-9. Not only is it a fun story with modern themes like dealing with bullies and helping out single parents who have to work a lot, it's also a good introduction to the ancient Greek and Roman gods and the myths that surround them. Stella Tarakson has written an entertaining story that is also educational, and it's just the first in the series. An excellent book for kids!

I found Here Comes Hercules! to be delightful, with realistic characters (the modern ones, anyway) and lots of honest emotion. It also has a really good amount of humor and an engaging story, This book is lots of fun!



Galleys for Hopeless Heroes: Here Comes Hercules! were provided by Sweet Cherry Publishing through NetGalley, with many thanks.

This was a really fun read, first in a new series which I am going to encourage my grandchildren to read. Thank you Netgalley.

About: Here Comes Hercules is a children’s book written by Stella Tarakson and illustrated by Nick Roberts. It was published on 2/22/18 by Sweet Cherry Publishing, 208 pages. The genres are children’s book, mythology, and fiction. This book is intended for readers ages 6 and up and it is book 1 to a series of two books.

My Experience: I started reading Here Comes Hercules as a bedtime story for my 6 years old son on 4/9/18 and we finished it on 4/20/18. This book is an awesome read! My son loves how Hercules deal with the bully. I like that Tim helps his mom around the house and corrects Hercules when he does it incorrectly. I like Tim’s mom’s failed attempts at getting published. As I read and reviewed many debuts and how easily their book made the NY Times Bestsellers’ List, I thought getting published is easy. This book reveals the reality of debut writers. I like that Tim respects his mom enough to make the house looks presentable before she comes home. I like how Tim tries to tell the truth first.

This book is told in the third person point of view following Timothy (Tim) Baker as he goes about his chores at home feeling like a Cinderella while his mom works late. He helps his mom around the house doing cleaning, dusting, weeding, etc and while dusting an old vase, he was distracted by the telephone ringing and accidentally dropped the vase. It breaks to pieces. As he worries about how he’s going to patch the pieces of the vase back together before his mom comes home, he sees a big muscular man appear near the broken vase. The big man tells Tim that he’s a hero named Hercules and that he can kill many things with his bare hands. Tim thought Hercules was a genie and wish him to help with the chores. Hercules attack each chores as if he’s in a battle and the outcome, well, is more than Tim asked for. The destruction at home angered Tim’s mother so he decided to bring Hercules to school with him. At school, Tim finds himself being sent to the principle’s office for calling the lunch lady fat, but no one see that he was telling Hercules to stop eating so much.

A well written book, Here Comes Hercules is an excellent reading adventures for kids! My son and I love the riddle but we couldn’t solve it and when it reveals, we thought duh! 😂 My son also laughs a lot at how Hercules want Tim to beat the bully. I like how Tim finally is able to stand up to the bully. I like the illustrations, very on point to the story. I don’t like those “stupid, dumb & idiot” words in kids’ stories. I think naughty or other substitute words will still make the story interesting. Besides that, my son enjoys this book a lot and I highly recommend everyone to read it.

Pro: fast paced, page turner, humor, hero, Greek mythology, actions and adventures, illustrations

Con: none

I rate it 5 stars!

***Disclaimer: Many thanks to the author Stella Tarakson, publisher Sweet Cherry Publishing, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review. Please be assured that my opinions are honest.

xoxo,
Jasmine at www.howusefulitis.wordpress.com for more details

'Here Comes Hercules' by Stella Tarakson is the first book in a new young reader series featuring hopeless heroes trying to help youngsters.

Tim Baker lives with his mom and tries to help out around the house. When he accidentally breaks her favorite Greek vase, he helps Hercules to escape. Rather than the kind of helpful hero that Tim would need, Hercules seems to make more messes than he cleans up. Added to that, Tim is the only one who can see Hercules, so the school bullies have even more to tease him about. Tim needs to find a way to get Hercules out of his life before things are even more out of control.

I thought it was a pretty cute story. There are fun illustrations, and I loved that Hercules looks like he would on a Greek vase. I think it's a good start to a series, and one I'd recommend to young readers.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Sweet Cherry Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

What a fun and unique book! I loved the mix of mythology, mystery and humour. The writing is sharp and engaging and the illustrations really added to the fun of the story.

My eight year old daughter really enjoyed this book. She quickly became absorbed in it and found it entertaining and engaging. It sparked an interest in Greek mythology, a topic that she had no prior knowledge of. The book is humorous and well-written and presents interesting historical facts in an easy to read story.

The Greek vase was the only thing in the house that was worth any money. It was very, very old - thousands of years - and that made it valuable. Sometimes Mum talked about selling it. It would bring in enough money for her to quit her second job, giving her more time at home with Tim. She could never bring herself to do it, however: the vase was the last thing Dad had given her before he died.

And now it was smashed, scattered in pieces across the living room floor.

And it was all Tim's fault.

I wanted to read this for two reasons: I love Greek mythology and I am currently teaching the Greek myths to Year 3 (Age 7 -8) and this book looked like it would be perfect for this age range, either as a class reader or for independent reading. Luckily, my predictions were correct and I am sure that this will be a massive hit with my pupils when I share it with them next week.

The story follows Tim who is doing his best to help his Mum makes ends meet, when he accidentally smashes an Ancient Greek vase and possibly the most valuable thing they own. Things really get strange when the hero pictured on the vase appears in real-life...yet only Tim seems able to see him!

Unfortunately, things in modern-day Britain are a bit different from Ancient Greece meaning that Hercule's heroic deeds turn out more hopeless than helpful. What should Tim do?

What I liked: Tim is a wonderful character who really tries to do the best he possibly can. I liked the sympathetic portrayal of a single-parent working. The humour will be popular with the target audience and it dripfeeds in some important facts and stories from Greek mythology.

Even better if: I'm glad that this is the start of a series because there are so many big personalities and fascinating stories to be explored in Greek mythology.

How you could use it in your classroom: I teach Year 3 at the moment and we spend half a term looking at Greek myths in English and the Ancient Greeks in history. It is always brilliant and the children really enjoy the myths, particularly the monsters and the battles. I'm planning to read this aloud as one of our class readers at the end of each day and I think it will be perfect because it is relatively short, has engaging illustrations and painlessly introduces some facts about Ancient Greek mythology. I am also planning to read the next in the series, 'Who let the Gods out? by Maz Evans as well as reading several myths every day from my trusty 'Atticus the storyteller's 100 Greek myths'

I loved this book, and am really looking forward to more in this series. Tim, is having a pretty rough time of it. His father is dead, his mother (a frustrated writer) is working all hours to keep them afloat, relying on Tim to do all the housework, and he is being bullied at school. Then, as if things couldn’t get any worse, he manages to break the one valuable item in his house, whose sale could get him and his mother out of their financial despair. There may be a bright side to the breakage though, when suddenly the Greek demi-god Hercules appears and offers to help Tim. Hercules may be a strong, well-muscled hero of ancient times, but he is not particularly bright. His “help” creates much more havoc than the original problems, mainly because he keeps applying the solutions that enabled him to complete his 12 Labours, to modern day housekeeping. Diverting rivers might have cleaned out the Augean Stables, but small residential houses in suburbia are not improved (or cleaned) by flooding. Hercules is always well-meaning, and with him around, Tim’s life lurches from one hilarious disaster to the next. No one believes Tim’s explanations – not even his mother or best friend – since nobody but Tim can see Hercules.
Apart from being a great story in itself, this book is a very good introduction to Greek myths and legends, albeit with a Herculean bias. The illustrations are excellent. While the pictures of Tim and anything from the real modern-day world are normal line drawings, Hercules is always drawn in ancient Greek vase style – complete with heroic poses, regardless of what he is doing (even making pancakes!).
The book ends all too soon – but with a promise of more to come.
I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Kids will love it! Funny and highly engaging.

This book was super cute, I read it with my son and he thought it was "super awesome". As an adult I noticed a few flaws but all in all it was a cute book to introduce Greek mythology to children, It also touched on the subject of bullying and how to overcome it, which I think is a very good lesson to have in any kids' book. I would recommend it to anyone with elementary grade children.

This was a really cute book for adolescents who are curious about Greek mythology and on ways to overcome bullying! I believe that kids will love clumsy Herc is and his cleaning methods! Personally, I am glad he did "clean" my house or garden!
I would highly recommend this title to 3rd-7th-grade teachers, librarians, and parents with inquisitive kiddos!

The only thing that I did not like was how Herc didn't know where he was and then 2 sentences later knew it was 1000+ years. He needed more adjustment time for me to give it a 5-star review.

Here Comes Hercules! is a fun start to a new children’s series called Hopeless Heroes. Including plenty of illustrations by Nick Roberts, we’re introduced to Tim Baker who lives with his mother. Tim is often needed to help out with the housework as his mother is busily working two jobs trying to keep her small family afloat, while actively working on her dream of becoming an author.

One day while dusting an ancient Greek vase he accidentally drops it and it shatters. Unbeknownst to Tim, by breaking the vase he’s also accidentally set Hercules free after he was trapped inside by wicked Hera, the wife of Hercules’ father Zeus. Hercules winds up ‘helping’ Tim with his household chores as only a Hopeless Hero can.

Hercules’ funny attempts to help inevitably end in disaster and Tim’s poor mother thinks Tim is acting out because he’s sick of cleaning. Tim discovers he’s the only person who can see Hercules, which complicates his relationship with his mother, his friendship with Ajay and even with Leo, the bully at school. Hercules is desperate to return to his wife and daughter and Tim is determined to help him, if only they can figure out how.

This chapter book is suitable for younger children who will enjoy Hercules’ bumbling attempts to be helpful. There are some good giggles and great illustrations, along with some accidental education about ancient Greek mythology. Bullying is addressed and I expect this theme will continue in future books. There are also indications the bully is facing family problems.

Tim and his mother are likeable characters who both have room for growth in future books. Tim, while not a fan of housework, wants to help out his mother and is supportive of her dream of becoming an author. Tim’s mother only wants the best for her son and is working hard to support him. I will be interested in reading the next book in the series.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley (thank you so much to NetGalley and Sweet Cherry Publishing for the opportunity) in exchange for honest feedback. While I would rate this book 3.5 stars, I’m rounding up to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

Firstly, if I had been a child reading this, I would have ATE. IT. UP. Even more than I already did. Heroes are cool. But Greek heroes are cool AND educational, and there’s nothing better than having fun getting lost in a book, whilst also being able to impress your teacher on Monday morning with your newfound knowledge. And just to clarify, the fun/education ratio is perfect in Here Comes Hercules.

Secondly, both Tim and Hercules were lovely characters. Tim was very typical of a ten year old boy. He’s having a hard time at school, but still rises above it to be a genuinely nice kid. Hercules was hysterically funny, and also a great hero to include. Especially with the way he was written. Boys often think it’s not okay to be emotional, but here we have one of the most famous and mighty heroes of all time, showing a lot of real emotion. We need to have more of this in children’s fiction, so I’m delighted that such a funny read also had a lot of heart.

Hopeless Heroes is going to be a fantastic series if this was any indication of quality. If you’re a big kid, or you have kids of your own, make sure this is on your list of books to buy. It was highly enjoyable, incredibly amusing and is sure to delight the ears and eyes of people everywhere.

A quick and funny story which is sure to appeal to lower UK KS2 children. I chose this book initially as my Y5 class will be doing Ancient Greece later this year; on reading I think it's better suited to the 6-8yo bracket, who would lap it up. However I also think it would be a good investment for some of my older readers who struggle with longer books because it makes the Greek myths accessible and engaging. Here Comes Hercules could easily spark children into wanting to know more about the stories it's based on.

In style I'd liken it to The Accidental Prime Minister - short, snappy, fun and the illustrations are super. I really liked the mix of cartoon and Greek amphora art; it strengthens the sense that only Tim can see Hercules.

Obviously you want to compare it to Who Let The Gods Out, but don't - both books bring the gods into the present day, and both present the gods as...well, kind of doofuses, but that's pretty much all the similarity there is. Here Comes Hercules is a simpler, fun tale which should whet the appetite for Greek mythology and give you some giggles along the way!