Problems with Pythagoras! (Hopeless Heroes)

Tim struggles with some aspects of school, and life in general, but these visits, which introduce readers to many Ancient Greek myths, and particularly to the gods, help teach him, and gain independence. Not all the gods are friendly, but the wise, slightly grumpy god Hercules encourages Tim to overcome problems, and to be courageous.

I have to admit that I was unaware of this series until I read Problems with Pythagoras. Originally published six years ago, this is in fact the fourth of ten books which form a neat box set, which opens the eyes of Key Stage 2 readers to The Greek God Collection, published by Sweet Cherry. Delving further into the origins of the publishers as well as the ancient Greek Gods, I was greatly impressed both with the book and the initial idea which led to a new publishing house. Researching this I discovered the gaping hole in children’s publishing which Sweet Cherry is filling.

They explain that:
‘Sweet Cherry Publishing was founded in 2011 by Abdul Thadha, who grew up in an area of Leicester where children rarely spoke English outside of school and there was a clear divide of wealth, particularly in the ethnic populations. Access to books was limited in these communities, and although he had been working with children’s publishers for seven years, he didn’t feel like enough was being done to reach those children. Since starting out in 2011, what he set out to achieve on a local level was becoming popular around the world as more countries turned to English children’s books as a tool to develop their literacy rates.’