Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up | Series: Trophy Picture Books
Long, long ago in ancient Greece, people began telling wonderful stories to explain the mysteries of life. These myths featured gods and goddesses, mighty beings who look human but have amazing powers and live forever. Now you can meet these extraordinary characters and hear their legends, brought to life again by Aliki in this splendid, panoramic look at the amazing stories and characters of Greek legend. "[Will meet the] demand for basic information on the gods and goddesses at the primary level."—BL. "Aliki's fans will welcome her introduction to these famous Greeks."—SLJ.
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Despite her vibrant art and her valiant attempt to simplify her material, Aliki's (A Medieval Feast; My Visit to the Aquarium) whirlwind tour of Olympus doesn't manage to untangle the labyrinthine legends of the mythical past. Her book falls into two sections, the first breezing through traditional Greco-Roman theogony. Some of her truncated accounts may mystify the target audience: "Cronus married his sister Rhea, and they had many children. But Cronus was afraid that one of them might overthrow him just as he had overthrown his father. So as each child was born he swallowed it." By the time Cronus regurgitates his offspring, who join with Zeus to rule the universe, Aliki moves on to a series of page-long profiles of various deities. The two halves of the book just don't hang together. On the other hand, the art, which is generously interspersed with the text, provides consistency. Bountiful details adapted from Greek vase paintings and sculpture fill Aliki's stylized pencil drawings. Washes of gouache paints and colored pencils imbue the compositions with a distinctly Mediterranean sunniness. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Gr. 2-4, younger for reading aloud. This large-format book provides a quick, brightly illustrated introduction to the ancient Greek gods and goddesses. Beginning with Gaea, Uranus, and the Titans, Aliki chronicles the rise and fall of Cronus and the defeat of the Titans by the new gods (Zeus and company), whom she introduces individually. The latter section, which comprises two-thirds of the book, will prove useful in libraries as a clear, simple overview of the more familiar gods and goddesses. The artwork varies in quality from the well-imagined scenes showing Gaea growing out of "a dark space named Chaos" to the awkward and slightly comical look of the scenes in which Cronus swallows his children and disgorges them. A Greek dramatist might have advised that those actions should take place offstage, to be reported by the players. While not a source for storytellers, this will prove useful in libraries with a demand for basic information on the gods and goddesses at the primary-grade level. Carolyn Phelan--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Aliki is the author and illustrator of more than fifty books for children that are treasured by readers all over the world. Her many well-loved titles include My Visit to the Zoo, My Visit to the Aquarium, My Visit to the Dinosaurs, Wild and Woolly Mammoths, Tabby, and Those Summers. Aliki lives near the Globe theater, in London, England.
In Her Own Words..."Aliki grew up in Philadelphia in a big Greek family where everyone was busy creating and sharing their activities. She knew from the time she was in kindergarten that she wanted to bean artist, although music was also a natural talent. She was encouraged throughout her early life by her parents and by teachers she will never forget."She graduated from the Philadelphia Collegeof Art and started a career in advertising art. After she married Franz Brandenberg, Aliki continued her career in his country, Switzerland, where they lived for three years. It was there that she wrote and illustrated her first book, The Story of William Tell, which was published in England. When they moved to New York, Aliki wrote and illustrated My Five Senses--the book that changed the direction of her career and her life.
Although she had never thought of being a writer, Aliki has been making books ever since. Children's books, she says, are a combination of two things I love: words and pictures. I also love the privacy of books--both reading them and making them. Aliki writes fiction, in which she can express her feelings, and nonfiction research books about subjects she's interested in and wants to know more about. Each book is a new challenge; each is different, she says. The subject directs the way I illustrate a book, the same way friends bring out different parts of us. The challenge is to get the words right and then to make pictures that expand and enhance their meaning.""Besides her own books, Aliki has illustrated many written by Franz Brandenberg and other authors. Her two children are also in the arts. Jason is a filmmaker and Alexa is a children's book author-illustrator. They appear in almost all of her books as cats, mice, or themselves.
Aliki loves music, theater, cinema, museums, children, her cat, Nefertiti, and working in her garden in London, where she lives. She travels frequently to the U.S., Greece, Switzerland, and other parts of the world, though most of the time she is alone in her studio with the books she is working on--and Mozart."
My 6-yr old neice absolutely loves this book. We had checked it out of the library and now I am purchasing it for her. This serves as a very good introduction to Greek mythology for young kids. It is clearly written and provides interesting vocabulary (that sometimes needs explanation). Our absolute favorite thing about the book is the illustration. The images are beautiful, fanciful, and inspire a person to dream! My neice has a hard time visually what words mean; she likes how there's a large portrait of the god or goddess, then scattered around him or her are little vignettes in pictures illustrating some major events in their lives. She can "read" this book herself and recall the stories. The images truly stick in one's mind.
I've looked at a dozen kids mythology books. Start them out with this one. If they are a bit older and dig mythology, get this for them anyhow. It will help refresh their memory.
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This review is from: The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus (Trophy Picture Books) (Paperback)
The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus is an interesting book. This book explains the origin of the gods and goddesses of Olympus. After reading this book a couple of times you will gain basic knowledge of the Greek gods and goddesses and how they evolved.
Aliki provides excellent illustrations that allow the story to be vividly portrayed. The illustrations relate well with the text and help the reader create a better understanding for the text. Her illustrations are drawn in pencil, then inked and colored with paints and colored pencils.
This book is at about a fifth grade reading level. However, the contents of this book are intended for an older, more mature audience, which leads to some concerns with using the book in the classroom. There are many moral issues in the book, as well as gruesome concepts throughout the book. For example, the ideas of incest are mentioned repeatedly, along with murder. These concepts may be rather difficult to explain to your students within your classroom.
Students who are interested in Greek gods and goddesses would really enjoy this book. However, in order for students to understand this book they need to be at a high independent reading level. The book can get rather confusing the first time around.
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This review is from: The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus (Trophy Picture Books) (Paperback)
This is by the far the best book I have foud that explains the creation according to the Greeks. I have used it in my high school classroom as well as my junior high and it is always a hit. This book contains the origins of the universe starting with mother earth (Gaea) and father sky (Uranos), the birth and the reign of the Titans and the reing of the Olympians Gods when they took over the earth. It aslo gives a great and thorough introduction of each of the 14 Olympian gods that reign upon Olympus. The pictures are amazing. The whole book is a work of art!
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