The Epic Adventure of Reading The Odyssey to My Baby

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toddler girl with book and toys Providence Moms BlogI knew the story of Odysseus fairly well through literary osmosis but had never actually read The Odyssey in school. I knew that the story was an incredible journey. And that it was also very long. Intimidatingly long, actually. It’s an epic after all, which I recently explained to my four-year-old son as “a series of little stories that work together to tell one larger one.” It seemed like he got it. Stories are easier to digest when you have those breaking points. (And as a parent, they’re easier to tell when you know you have built-in stopping points.) And so, here is how my epic begins.

Chapter 1: The Discovery

I came across The Odyssey as a graphic novel at my favorite local bookstore. I grabbed it immediately. It is written and drawn by Gareth Hinds and his stunning artwork is broken down into relatively short chapters. And, oh my gosh, the cover is the perfect lure. It is a watercolor of a larger than life (and understandably annoyed) Poseidon looming over a barely visible Odysseus on a raft. The enormity of Odysseus’ journey is crystal clear and it made me want to open it up and start reading immediately. Art can be so powerful in that way and Hinds nailed it. He made an intimidating text inviting through a single summarizing, gorgeously crafted piece of art. I couldn’t wait to see more art inside and how it was telling this centuries-old story. So, like Odysseus, I “set sail” for home, excited to reunite with my family and share my bounty.

Chapter 2: The Art of Making a Memory

At the time of this purchase, my daughter was only months old. Even though my little lady would not really sit still or fully understand the story (nor would I want her to understand or see some parts…it is a graphic novel after all), I wanted to make a literary memory with her. My son and I would read books all the time and it was so enjoyable. I wanted that same feeling with my baby girl. So, I shared my graphic novel with her and read it aloud. Akin to Odysseus, I didn’t know what to expect at the start of this adventure, but I was determined to see it through.

What really kept her interest was the art. She engaged with the beautiful watercolors and vibrant colors. Seeing what colors, marks, and shapes she gravitated toward was fascinating and provided inspiration for conversations describing certain characters with more detail and reiterating parts of the story. Words cannot describe how much I loved this! The irony of my daughter happily poking the Cyclops in the eye was not lost on me, either. The guy was clearly asking for it.

Chapter 3: The Epic Journey

I thoroughly enjoyed every second of “reading” this 248-page novel with my little girl. It’s a good thing too because it took us three months to work through it. Talk about an epic adventure. Again, great job with breaking the story into several, relatively short chapters. But because I was reading a very long story to a baby, it took a few sittings to get through each one. You work with what you can get, though, and I got really good at recapping the story and then wooing her to sitting with me to look at the “pretty pictures!” As Odysseus had to manage his crew while sailing them into the unknown, I studied the moment and mood to make each second and word count with my little girl. Bit by bit, Odysseus and I overcame our challenges and progressed on our journeys.

Chapter 4: Realizing the Hidden Truth

While I did not realize it at the time, upon reflection of my “epic experience” with my daughter, I really looked forward to reading The Odyssey with her. It took effort, but all that wrangling and wooing built up to reading an epic piece of classic literature. That’s an incredible accomplishment for both of us. Equally as important is that I broke through the excuse of “being so busy all the time” to carve out a few minutes to just sit and be with my baby. My goal was simply to experience a story through art and written word, all with the greater goal of connecting with my little lady. I think we both needed that.

Chapter 5: This Story Ends, Yet the Epic Continues

In powering through a three-month effort to read an epic about a man who travels for decades to get home, it does provide some reflection on the life of a parent. Case in point: during one part of the story, Odysseus was up for nine nights straight trying to steer his ship and crew home. Moms can relate to that, right? Hopefully not literally, though…

Despite being exhausted and thrown around by the gods for vengeance (and fun), Odysseus persevered and kept his eye on the prize: getting home to his family. I can get on board with that, pun intended. Parenting is hard. We don’t know what adventures and challenges await us, but we stay focused on doing our utmost to raise great kids and make meaningful memories. Maybe it’s not always as graceful as we hope, but we get the job done. I mean, we’re not battling sea monsters, right? Though I’m sure sometimes it feels like that. We ride out the storms and stay focused on the horizon because we hope, like Odysseus, for that happy ending. That all our effort is worth it. 

My daughter and I closed the book on Odysseus’s story over a year ago, yet that experience continues to inspire. He is now a story within our ever-evolving epic as we write more of it every day. 

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Kim Votruba-Matook
Kim Votruba-Matook is the proud mother of a three-year-old son and a fifteen-month-old daughter, wife to her high school sweetheart, a professional holding down a full time job in the nonprofit sector, AND an entrepreneur as founder of The Artful Educator. Kim's primary motivation for everything she does stems from the belief that there is always a way she can help make someone’s life better. She was raised within a close-knit, quirky, huge, creative family (and then married someone who has an even larger family!) that is now and will always be an integral part of her life. Her world revolves around traveling within Southern MA and Northern RI to say "hi!" to them all. When not working on her business, Kim loves researching and borrowing books, ranging from graphic novels to fiction to biographies, from her local library to read with her kids. She loves chai lattes with almond milk, tea, and baking any carb-tastic treat. Her all-time favorite recipe is her Gram’s baked macaroni and cheese, which she could easily eat every day. Her exercise routine is chasing, picking up and carrying her kids across driveways and parking lots and up and down stairs so she isn't late to family events or church. She seeks out new, local diners for monthly Saturday brunch with friends and restaurants that make amazing burgers and/or macaroni and cheese entrees for date nights. Also, she really likes mac and cheese…in case that wasn’t clear. She loves Motown dance parties with her kids, watching movies with her husband, checking out local craft fairs, embarking on her own craft/sewing projects, and empowering her kids to make their own art. And sometimes she manages to get some sleep.