Young Quills reviews

Gurdaj’s review
What happens? Did you find the plot interesting? 
The plot is when Hercules requests Julius Zebra finds the golden apple. Then they become Gods and Zeus is confused.

Who was your favourite character? Why?
My favourite character is Julius Zebra because he’s a rebel, former pharaoh of Egypt, and extraordinary.

What was your favourite part? Why?
My favourite part is when they play a football match. Hercules is the referee and Zebra scores his hat trick.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
I will give this to a history person to enjoy this stupendous, phenomenal book. 

Star rating ★★★★★

Jake’s review
Julius Zebra: Grapple with the Greeks is a funny story full of historical facts that takes you on an adventure through Ancient Greece on a mission to find the golden apple.

This book is full of daft humour and funny pictures which are part of the tale.

The book also has some fun and interesting activities to complete.

You don’t need to read any of the other Julius Zebra books before reading this one but now I have read this, I am looking forward to reading the others.

I recommend this book for boys and girls aged 8–10 years old.

Nishaan’s review
What happens? Did you find the plot interesting?
Hercules comes across Zebra and asks him to find a golden apple. The only reason Hercules wants the apple is to pay off his bills. The plot was very interesting.

Who are the main characters? 
Zebra, Cornelius, and the gang.

Who was your favourite character? Why?
Hades, because he gave the gang one wish each because of his nephew (Heracles’) lie and Zebra got his brother back.

Did you like the book? What was your favourite part? Why?
Yes. When Zebra got his brother back because it was a happy, touching scene.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
Yes, because it is really funny and there are so many twists and turns. 

Star rating ★★★★★

[Unnamed reviewer]
Which of the characters did you find most interesting, and why?
Julius, because he’s funny.

Which of the characters didn’t you like, and why?
Hercules, because he tricked Julius.

Did you learn anything new about the past from the book?
Yes, that the Romans ruled quite a lot of the world.

What made the history or the time it was set in interesting?
Because Greece is fascinating.

Would you recommend the book to other pupils? Yes.

[Unnamed reviewer]
Which of the characters did you find most interesting, and why?
Miulus – he is a grumpy lion who is annoyed easily.

Which of the characters didn’t you like, and why? None.

Did you learn anything new about the past from the book?
Yes, every planet in the solar system is named after Greeks.

Would you recommend the book to other pupils?
Definitely, it is very humorous.

Sophia’s review
We are learning about the Greeks at school and I thought this book would help me learn a lot about them. Julius is the King and he is sent on a quest to find a golden apple. I couldn’t really get into the story though as it was a bit too silly and it wasn’t my style of book at all. It is suitable for children in years 3 and 4.

Gracie’s review
I hoped I would like this book as it seems funny and has unusual characters is it. It has characters and Gods from Ancient Greeks times and is a type of myth. There is a hero (Julius) and he has to face vicious beasts and find a treasure. I did not like this book because it was aggressive and I do not like books with lots of fighting in them.

Poppy’s review
This book is a classic novel, probably one of my favourite books I have ever read! My favourite character was Julius Zebra and my favourite thing he says is, “Talk to the hoof coz this face ain’t listening!” and, “Is it Emperor Hadrian, Cleopatra or Stormzy?”

The only thing I would complain about is how Julius meets Hercules for the first time they go on a big adventure with his friends to find Hercules’ golden apple but what they don’t know is soon they will come face to face with the real minotaur (half human and half bull). A most used phrase is probably “nincompoop” which means idiot/stupid person. There is a comic page at the front which is interesting and there are pictures on nearly every page. Some pages are just pictures which I like. I would give it 4¾ stars out of 5.

Callum’s review
This book was really funny. There was lots of humour in the book with many jokes and funny things to laugh at.

Joe’s review
This book was amazing! I would recommend it for 7–10 year olds. I really enjoyed it.

I would describe this book as comedy/funny and would recommend it for curious young readers. It was awesome!

[Unnamed reviewer]
Characters: I found Hercules quite funny because he is a brag. I didn’t like Julius Zebra because he is stupid.

Did you learn anything new about the past from this book? It had some myths in it.

When was the book set? What made the history or the time it was set in interesting? Greece. It wasn’t interesting because it had poor vocabulary and it used “said” too much.

Was the plot exciting, thought-provoking, serious, or light-hearted? It was mostly comics and pictures. I prefer something with more depth.

What stands out most for you from the book? Its terribleness because it was so bad.

Would you recommend it to other pupils? No, because it is rude, I don’t like toilet humour.

Any other comments? 1 star out of 10.

Kelvin’s review
Characters: I found Julius most interesting because he is very silly. I didn’t like Hadrian because of the way he was portrayed.

Did you learn anything new about the past from this book? It told me that a Greek pot was called an urn.

When was the book set? What made the history or the time it was set in interesting? Ancient Greek time. It included some myths I already knew.

Was the plot exciting, thought-provoking, serious, or light-hearted? Light-hearted.

What stands out most for you from the book? The main characters aren’t very intelligent.

Would you recommend it to other pupils? I would recommend it to Year 3s because I think it would suit them.

Any other comments? 6 stars out of 10.

Ulfat's review
Julius Zebra is a fantastic book for any age, any kind and anyone.

It's bemusing sometimes when there are certain actions, but otherwise it's very very hilarious.

In Year 6 we were learning about Ancient Greece and it's linked. I recognised gods and characters from the myths. My favourite character is Felix because he's very addicted to rocks and will try to collect them wherever he goes. My favourite part was when they had a sing-song and hermit the crab came out of Felix's waist purse and they started singing "one two three four five once I caught a crab alive!" which was very relevant and funny. I could hear them singing it in my mind and I even dreamed about it that night!

While I was in the middle of reading it I was desperate to know what would happen next in the plot. At the end I was literally laughing out loud because Hades was saying "I am very sorry for my nephew's behaviour" and Hades apologised that he couldn't give them immortality despite what Hercules had promised. When Julius' brother got Midas' touch, Julius promised to get him back because he's his own brother... and even if he's an idiot, he's his idiot.