Nancy Partridge (Children's Literature)
The dynamic trio, Joe, Sam and Fred are at it once again in this new segment of "The Time Warp Trio" series. The boys are about to start rehearsing their school play about ancient Greece when the script gets knocked into The Book, a magical time-warping tome reminiscent of The Never Ending Story. Suddenly, they find themselves in Hades, and so begins their quest to get back to the future. The celestial crew on Mount Olympus are a bunch of wise-cracking smart-alecks, sounding a lot like certain American eleven-year-old boys, many of whom might find the insulting tone very funny. There are a ton of references to actual facts about Greek mythology, so readers just might learn a thing or two along the way. This isn't great literature, but the humor, wordplay, and cliffhanger chapter endings could very well hold the attention of reluctant readers. There's a glossary in the back to explain a bit about the Greek mythological figures. 1999, Viking, $13.99. Ages 7 to 11.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, 1999)
Scieszka and Lane's intrepid heroes of The Time Warp Trio are once again up to their necks in very silly historical circumstances. Joe, Fred, and Sam are horsing around during their school play--which they wrote themselves--about the ancient deities of Greece. When a cardboard thunderbolt accidently hits the magic blue book stashed in Joe's backpack, the three boys are transported back to ancient Greece--or so they think. When they meet some of the wisecracking gods and goddesses on Mount Olympus, they realize they've been transported to the fictionalized Greece of their play, complete with dialogue they wrote using "The Book of Snappy Insults." While flinging around backhanded compliments with Hera (who's not bad on the uptake), the three time travelers try to locate their blue book of magic so they can return home. Instead, they end up as that night's entertainment for the gods. The opening jokes fall flat, but then Joe comes up with some last-minute parlor tricks. Just when everything's going well, a pack of Greek monsters arrives, and the mountain top threatens to become a battlefield. The wordplay is still fast and funny, and fans of the series will not mind that the deities have become sort of stock types; the abundance of goofy Groucho Marx-style zingers will keep everyone else smiling. 1999, Viking, $13.99. © 1999 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Tanya Tullos (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 12, No. 4))
Just as their class play about Greek mythology begins, Sam, Fred, and Joe become time travelers to ancient Greece. Facing Cerberus, the three-headed dog, and an angry Zeus who thinks the boys have stolen his thunderbolts, the three even trade friendly insults with Hera. Challenged to a stand-up comedy routine to save their own lives, the boys put on quite a show for the gods and goddesses before they can figure out a return to real life. Young students of Greek mythology will enjoy the not-so-subtle jokes and insults. Full of wise cracks and "kid humor," this tale may be just the introduction to mythology that other students need. A cast list includes pronunciations and descriptions of the Greeks. A section on making your own props and the Web site for a complete play on mythology are also given. The eighth in the Time Warp Trio series, this one will spur new readers to investigate all the others in the series. (Time Warp Trio) Fiction. Grades 3-7. 1999, Viking, 73p, $13.99. Ages 8 to 13.