The Revenge of Ishtar

Lisa Arsenault is an elementary-school teacher in Ajax.

The powerful Babylonian ruler Gilgamesh has been humanized by the
friendship of Enkidu and Shamhat. His city prospers and the future looks
bright as this second book in Zeman’s Gilgamesh trilogy begins. But a
monster causes Shamhat’s death. With the help of the goddess Ishtar,
Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill the monster. Ishtar falls in love with
Gilgamesh, but he rejects her, incurring her wrath. She wreaks a
terrible revenge on Gilgamesh by killing Enkidu, his dearest friend.
Having lost two loved friends to death, Gilgamesh will now set out, in
the third book, to discover the secret of immortality.

This second instalment smoothly and seamlessly continues the story
begun in the beautiful picture book Gilgamesh the King. The prose is
clear and events are presented in a logical cause-and-effect fashion;
the school-age child will easily grasp the fundamentals of the great
epic, and the key themes of love, loyalty, friendship, and revenge are
carefully developed.

These books are a marvelous introduction for children to the world of
ancient history and mythology. The meticulously researched, highly
detailed illustrations bring the ancient Mesopotamian civilization to
vivid life. Notes on the text and on the Gilgamesh myth provide further
source material for the teacher or parent.

The Revenge of Ishtar is highly recommended for children in Grades 2 to
5.