Greeking Out: Tales From the Underworld, the latest in the hit book series from Nat Geo Kids, is just the right amount of scary.
Like Greeking Out and Greeking Out: Heroes and Olympians before it, it’s the perfect gift for kids of all ages, incorporating plenty of humor, lots of action and the right amount of spookiness for a book that’s all about making ancient myths from a variety of cultures accessible for today’s youth.
“This time around, we’re telling stories about the afterlife from ancient cultures all across the globe,” says Kenny Curtis, who has co-authored all three Greeking Out books with his daughter, Jillian Hughes. “It features stories all about the underworld, immortality and the afterlife. And it’s perfectly timed for Halloween!”
The Greeking Out book series is inspired by the podcast of the same name, in which Curtis and the all-knowing Oracle of Wi-Fi riff on the myths of ancient Greece. Book three expands even further to include myths from all over the world.
It also continues to incorporate Curtis and Hughes’ trademark humor.
“We’ve told these kinds of scary stories before, but I think the biggest difference is that these tales come from some very different cultures,” says Hughes. “Sure, some of them involve monsters and mummies and the occasional animal butt, but they still deal with the same topics and themes that longtime readers can relate to.”
A dynamic father-daughter duo
In the beginning, there was a podcast. “Greeking Out” (available on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and YouTube) started in 2019 and, now in season 11, is still going strong.
“I can’t believe we now have 100 episodes!” says Hughes.
Hughes says she’d been encouraging her dad to write a book since she was a child. It finally happened two years ago with the release of Greeking Out, which highlighted 20 classic Greek myths, sharing the tales in a fun and educational way.
Last year saw the release of the second book, Greeking Out: Heroes and Olympians, which dove deeper into the legendary lives of classic Greek heroes and Olympians.
Greeking Out: Tales From the Underworld continues the tradition, with the same engaging illustrations by Javier Espila and the same corny dad jokes from Curtis and Hughes.
“For dad jokes, you gotta lean into it,” says Curtis. “You have to live for the groans and the eye-rolling. Part of the reason dad jokes are funny is because they are so not funny.”
“You also have to have a daughter that edits half of the dad jokes out and leaves only the best ones,” says Hughes. “Readers, you are welcome!”
Tales as old as time
The stories featured in Greeking Out: Tales From the Underworld are not new. They’ve been around for centuries and, in fact, were the inspiration for many of our modern “myths,” such as Superman, Harry Potter and the Avengers.
That’s because ancient myths and stories generally deal with the same themes that modern storytellers use when producing content for TV shows and movies.
There’s the one story about an ill-advised attempt to kidnap the queen of the underworld. There’s another about an Egyptian god of death who weighs your heart against a feather. And yet another that details the treacherous and winding road to the Norse afterlife.
Along with tales from Greek mythology, you’ll read unforgettable stories from ancient Egypt, Scandinavia, Mesopotamia, the Philippines, China, Central America and more.
Greeking Out: Tales From the Underworld will be available October 7 wherever books are sold.
Click here to read an excerpt on the Scout Life magazine website!
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