Publisher Description

The first book of the Goddess Girls series stars Athena, who discovers that her intelligence has immortal value. Athena always knew she was smart and special, but she didn't realize that she was a goddess! When she's whisked away to Mount Olympus Academy, she worries about fitting in and dealing with her dad--who just happens to be Zeus. Luckily, she meets the Goddess Girls--and finds the best friends she's ever had.

Author Biography

Joan Holub has authored and/or illustrated over 140 children's books, including the Goddess Girls series, the Heroes in Training series, the New York Times bestselling picture book Mighty Dads (illustrated by James Dean), and Little Red Writing (illustrated by Melissa Sweet). She lives in North Carolina and is online at JoanHolub.com. Suzanne Williams is a former elementary school librarian and the author of over seventy books for children, including the award-winning picture books Library Lil (illustrated by Steven Kellogg) and My Dog Never Says Please (illustrated by Tedd Arnold), and several chapter book and middle grade series. She also coauthors the Goddess Girls and Thunder Girls series with the fantastic Joan Holub. Visit her at Suzanne-Williams.com.

Review

A clever take on Greek deities. -- "Booklist"
On top of Mount Olympus, the authors intertwine an enchanting mythological world with middle-school woes compounded by life as a deity or blessed mortal. The books should be popular with fans of girly, light fantasy. -- "School Library Journal"

Review Quote

On top of Mount Olympus, the authors intertwine an enchanting mythological world with middle-school woes compounded by life as a deity or blessed mortal. The books should be popular with fans of girly, light fantasy. -- School Library Journal

Excerpt from Book

Athena the Brain 1 The Letter A STRANGE, GLITTERY BREEZE WHOOSHED into Athena''s bedroom window one morning, bringing a rolled-up piece of papyrus with it. She jumped up from her desk and watched in amazement as it swirled above her. "A message for Athena from Mount Olympus!" the wind howled. "Art thou present?" "Yes, I''m thou. I''m present. I mean--I''m Athena," she replied in a rush. Abruptly the breeze stilled, and the scroll dropped right in the middle of her science homework. A thrill swept over her. She''d never gotten a message from the gods before! No human she knew ever had. The gods and goddesses on Mount Olympus ruled Earth, but only made their powers known for important matters. What could they want? Was she being given an urgent mission to save the world? She unrolled the scroll as fast as she could and began to read. DEAR ATHENA, THIS MAY COME AS A SHOCK TO YOU, BUT I, ZEUS--KING OF THE GODS AND RULER OF THE HEAVENS--AM YOUR FATHER. AND THAT, OF COURSE, MAKES YOU A GODDESS. "Huh?" Athena''s knees wobbled so hard that she plopped back into her chair. She read on: YOU MUST BE, WHAT . . . NINE YEARS OLD NOW? "Try twelve," she mumbled under her breath. And for most of those years, she had yearned to know who her parents were. She''d spun endless stories in her head, imagining how they looked and what they were like. At last a piece of the puzzle had dropped into her lap. Or onto her desk, anyway. Her eyes raced across the rest of the letter as she continued: AT ANY RATE, YOU''RE PLENTY OLD ENOUGH NOW TO CONTINUE YOUR SCHOOLING AT MOUNT OLYMPUS ACADEMY, WHERE I--YOUR DEAR OL'' DAD--AM THE PRINCIPAL. I HEREBY COMMAND YOU TO PREPARE AT ONCE FOR THE JOURNEY TO MOUNT OLYMPUS. HERMES DELIVERY SERVICE WILL PICK YOU UP TOMORROW MORNING. YOURS IN THUNDER, ZEUS * * * Was this for real? She could hardly believe it! Beneath his signature was the worst drawing she''d ever seen. It looked sort of like a caterpillar, but Athena had a feeling it was supposed to be a muscled arm. She grinned. One thing was for sure, Zeus was no artist. A blazing gold Z shaped like a thunderbolt--Zeus''s official seal--was embossed alongside the drawing. She traced her finger over it. "Ow!" A burst of electricity buzzed her fingertip, and she dropped the scroll. As the sizzle zinged through her, the scroll shut with a snap and rolled across the carpet. No question about it, this letter was from the King of Mount Olympus! Feeling dazed--and not from the electricity--she gulped. She was his daughter. A goddess! Athena jumped to her feet, unsure if she should be happy or upset, but feeling a little of both. Rushing over to the mirror, she gazed at her reflection. Her determined gray eyes stared back at her, looking no different from before she''d read the letter. And her long, wavy brown hair was the same too. With a poke of one finger, she squished the end of her too-long nose up, then frowned at the piggy nose she''d made. She wasn''t sure what she''d expected to see in the glass. To suddenly look beautiful, wise, and powerful? In other words--more like a goddess? She turned as she heard her best friend Pallas come into their bedroom. Crunch! Crunch! Pallas eyed her, munching an apple. "What''s that?" she asked, gesturing toward the letter on the floor. "Umm." Athena quickly scooped it up and tucked it behind her back. Looking suspicious, Pallas came closer, trying to see what it was. "Come on. Give. I''ve known you forever. Why are you suddenly keeping secrets?" Athena thumped one end of the scroll gently against her back. On one hand, she wanted to twirl around and shout the news that she was a goddess! At the same time she wanted to hide the letter in the back of her closet and pretend it hadn''t come. Zeus''s summons was going to change everything. "It''s a letter," she finally admitted. "From my dad. Turns out he''s . . . Zeus." Pallas stopped in mid-munch, her mouth full of apple. "Wha? Zeu?" Quickly she finished chewing and swallowed. "Your dad is the King of the Gods?" Athena nodded, holding out the papyrus scroll. Pallas pounced on it. By the time she finished reading, her eyes were huge. "You''re a goddess?" Her voice rose to a squeak on the last word. "I don''t want this to change things," Athena said quickly. "We''ll still be best friends, right?" Pallas examined the scroll closely, seeming not to hear. "Who brought it?" "The wind." "It''s got the official seal and everything. It''s the real thing, then--an invitation to Mount Olympus." Pallas stared at Athena in wonderment. "My best friend is a goddess!" "So you think I should go?" Even as Athena asked, she knew that the idea of going to Mount Olympus Academy was growing on her. But how could she tell Pallas that? She''d be devastated at the thought of Athena moving away. Pallas tossed the scroll on her bed. It rolled itself tight and snapped shut again. "Are you crazy? Of course you have to go!" she exclaimed. "This is your chance to really be somebody! I mean, who wouldn''t want to be a goddess?" Athena hugged herself and glanced out the window toward the Triton River, feeling a little hurt. It almost sounded like Pallas was trying to get rid of her. She''d lived with Pallas''s family since she was a baby. The two of them had shared this room and been as close as sisters all their lives. "But I''ll miss you, Pal," Athena said softly. Pallas came to the window and looped her arm through one of Athena''s. Her voice was softer now, as if she''d just realized she''d be losing her best friend. "Yeah. I''ll miss you, too." She took a deep breath. "But you''ve always wondered about your parents. This is your chance to find out about them. Besides, it doesn''t sound like Zeus is giving you much choice." Athena nodded. "His letter is kind of bossy." She stuck her nose in the air haughtily as she quoted him in a deep, authoritative voice. "I hereby command you to prepare at once for the journey to Mount Olympus." Pallas giggled. "Yours in thunder . . . ," she mimicked in a loud, bass tone. "Zeus!" they finished together. They fell on their beds in a fit of laughter. "I guess going against a god''s wishes--even if he is my dad--might be a bad idea," said Athena once she''d calmed down. "If he got mad, he might just bean me on the head with one of his thunderbolts." Pallas''s face went pale, and she rose on one elbow to gaze over at her. "You don''t suppose he''s violent?" "Don''t worry," Athena said quickly, turning on her side toward Pallas. "I''m sure we''ll get along just fine." But she couldn''t help remembering that thunderbolt and feeling a little nervous about meeting her powerful dad. She reached out to a toy on her bedside table--a wooden horse named Woody. "I wonder what the academy will be like," she mused as she idly finger-combed the rope mane on the back of her favorite childhood toy. "I bet the godboys and goddessgirls who go there are all brainy like you." Pallas propped her head up on one fist. "In fact, I can hardly believe we didn''t guess you might be a goddess. I mean, you learned to knit and do math when you were only three years old! You''re way smarter than the rest of us." Athena shrugged, knowing it was true. Her studies here on Earth were so easy they were boring. "And there''s the other stuff too," Pallas hinted softly. Athena winced, looking away. Weird stuff, Pallas meant, though she was too nice to say it. Like the day Athena had invented the very first flute and trumpet ever seen on Earth, and then played an impromptu concert, even though she knew nothing about music. And then there was the time she''d been reading about owls and thinking how fun it would be to fly. Suddenly her feet had left the ground and her hair had turned into bristly brown feathers. Right in the middle of gym class, too! Luckily, she had changed back almost immediately, and everyone had assumed she''d been affected by some random bit of magic in the air, which might have floated down from Mount Olympus that day. From then on, she''d been more careful about who was around when she did things like that. But some of the kids still nicknamed her "birdbrain" as a result of the episode. "I''m tired of trying to hide that I''m different. It would be nice to fit in for a change," Athena admitted. "I only wish you could come too." Pallas shook her head. "I don''t belong where you''re going. But hey! Maybe I can visit you. If it''s not against the rules, I mean." Athena brightened. "Yeah! I''ll ask Zeus when I get there." Pallas sat up. "So you''re definitely goin

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