MOUNT OLYMPUS BASKETBALL

It’s chaos on the court as the Greek Gods, still riding high after their victory over the Titans, square off against a team of mortal Heroes for a riotous, epic game of hoops. A pair of chatty announcers talk up the confrontation, introduce the teams—“He’s big. He’s strong. He’s slippery when wet. He’s the brother of Zeus. He’s the god of the sea. It’s . . . POSEIDON!”—then cover the action from tip-off to final buzzer. Except for Odysseus, a Woody Allen look-alike, the Heroes cut brawny, ruggedly handsome figures, but in O’Malley’s glossy cartoons the gods, from glowering Zeus to gap-toothed Athena, look ready to rumble. And rumble they do, to a 2,678,352-to-6 finish—but any team that can call up a flood, open a deep, deep hole in the court, or change an offending official into an animal at will is going to be hard to beat. O’Malley (Twelve Days, 2002, etc) strews infobits about ancient Greece and Greek mythology into the commentary, and caps this sidesplitting slam-dunk with an enticing list of relevant books and Web sites. The final score may be lopsided, but the game’s a winner, and every reader gets a courtside seat. (Picture book. 6-9)