Born of a mortal woman and the king of the gods, Hercules is blessed with extraordinary strength. The goddess Hera commands that the mighty Hercules must undergo twelve incredible tasks to pay for a mistake he made in the past. Hercules easily completes the first few labors, as he overpowers a ravenous lion and battles a giant bull barehanded. But not all the gods support him, and Hercules faces difficult tasks that test his strength and his mind. These reader—favorite tiles are now updated for enhanced Common Core State Standards support, including discussion and writing prompts developed by a Common Core expert, an expanded introduction, bolded glossary words and dynamic new covers.