Favorite Greek Myths [Hardcover]

Mary Pope Osborne (Author), Troy Howell (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1989 | Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Here are twelve Greek myths, retold in an accessible style and magnificently illustrated with classic elegance. Full color.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This handsome collection consists of a dozen tales from Greek mythology, most drawn from Ovid's Metamorphoses , including the stories of Echo and Narcissus, Ceres and Proserpine, Cupid and Psyche, King Midas. Osborne's retellings are both lively and descriptive, while Howell's full-color, often iridescent illustrations set the scene and mood at the start of each tale. Taken together, they provide a solid and highly readable introduction to the major Greco-Roman gods and goddesses and the myths that have profoundly shaped Western thought and literature. Helpful back-matter includes a list of key characters, partial lexicon of modern words drawn from the myths, bibliography and index. Ages 7-11.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6-- Not a comprehensive collection, this book contains retellings of Apuleius' "Cupid and Psyche" and of 11 stories from Ovid's Metamorphoses. The prose is lively, the versions faithful, and each myth has a full-page, gold-warmed painting in a realistic but slightly Art Deco-archaic style. Roman names are used, with Greek equivalents given but no pronunciation key. A list of modern myth-related words classifies them as of "Greek origins," though many (e.g., cereal) are patently from Latin roots; and some obvious choices (jovial, panic, psychology) are omitted. The brief introduction repeats the dubious idea that Greek myths "explain" nature, which in any case is not a help in understanding Ovid's reworkings. Many more stories (including those of Prometheus, Pandora, Deucalion and Pyrraha, Io, Niobe, Pygmalion, Oedipus, Bellerophon, Perseus, Heracles, Jason, Theseus, Odysseus, et. al. , all missing here) and illustrations can be found in the Macmillan Book of Greek Gods and Heroes (1985) or Gods, Men and Monsters from the Greek Myths (Schocken, 1982). --Patricia Dooley, University of Washington, Seattle
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press; 1ST edition (May 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590413384
• ISBN-13: 978-0590413381
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #47,033 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #68 in Books > Children's Books > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > Greek & Roman

More About the Author

"I'm one of those very lucky people who absolutely loves what they do for a living. There is no career better suited to my eccentricities, strengths, and passions than that of a children's book author."--Mary Pope Osborne

Mary Pope Osborne is the author of the popular Magic Tree House series. She works with her husband Will and her sister Natalie on the nonfiction companion series, Magic Tree House Research Guides. Many of her books have been named to best-books lists.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Top Quality, A Suggested Buy For a Beginner of Mythology, April 30, 2000

By 

Josh Mitchell - See all my reviews

This review is from: Favorite Greek Myths (Hardcover)

This book was pretty informative and told every story very accurately, which is very goood. Some mythology books these days don't always tell the story the same way and then you have contradicting information. But, ont thing that bothered me throughout the whole book was that the title of the book is Favortite Greek Myths, but clearly they use the Roman names for all of the gods and characters. This can be somewhat misleading. They also focus on some of the gods that are more minor and ignore more popular ones, which I am critisizing. But I have always loved the stry of Daphne and Apollo, and this book has the best version I've ever heard of it. It also includes other stories about Echo and Narcissus, King Midas, Hades kidnapping Persephone, and Arachne, all classics in Greek folklore. Onne thing that was also very useful was that there was a passage in the back of the book giving the names and occupations of each god and goddess. The color paintings in the book are also very beautiful and describe the story, and are therefore well-chosen. This book is very good for beginers of mythology (it was my first mythology book and is very good for children), but not recomended for advanced mythologists. Though the stories are brief and quick to get to their point, they are still informative enough to get the plot. That's why the book is so good for kids. It's really nice to share Greek mythology with kids early because all during junior high you have to study about it (trust me, I'm fourteen), and it's helpful to already know something about before you start. And this book is a good source for that sort of thing.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW, March 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Favorite Greek Myths (Hardcover)

I took mythology in college and loved it. I had lost the text book though and it was sadly missed! I love art and collect books! This is a beautiful book, with beautiful art! The illustrator also did work on the time life series enchanted world, which I own the entire collection so it was a pleasant suprise to see his illustrations for this book. The stories are wonderful, some I remember some I didn't. I read it from cover to cover and will cherish it! Hopefully she'll write more greek myths, a series! I plan on getting her other book, Favorite medievil tales, I'll write a review either way! If you appreciate beautiful art and good stories this is a must have for any library, I'll pass this one on to my children!

27 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Childhood Nostalgia!, June 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Favorite Greek Myths (Hardcover)

I received this book for Christmas one year when I was a child ... it enchanted me for hours. The illustrations, as I remember, were wonderful and so were the stories. If you were to buy this book for your inquisitive child, they would NOT be disappointed.