Here are fifteen wonderful stories about the Greek gods and goddesses -- Zeus, the most powerful; his wife Hera; and their large, extended family. In the splendid retellings, Geraldine McCaughrean vividly recreates the world of these powerful characters who also possessed human attributes and failings.
The collection includes favorite stories such as how Paris judged who was the fairest goddess of all, how the city of Athens was named, and how Phaeton defied his father, the sun god Helios. It also tells some of the lesser-known ones: how the dolphins were created and how Hephaestus won Aphrodite for his wife.
The magic and drama of Geraldine McCaughrean's retellings are beautifully matched by Emma Chichester Clark's lively illustrations, in which she brings the characters strikingly to life.
It's 30 years now since I first got published, and 50 since I found out how writing let me step outside my little, everyday world and go wherever I chose - way back in Time, to far distant shores, towards my own, home-made happy ending. Not that all my books are an easy ride. I write adventure, first and foremost, because that's what I enjoyed reading as a child. But since I have published over 150 books now, there are all manner of books in among that number - gorgeously illustated picture books, easy readers, prize winners, teenage books and five adult novels. The White Darkness won the Printz Award in the USA, which, for as Englishwoman, was the most amazing, startling thrill. Then there was Peter Pan in Scarlet - official sequel to J M Barrie's Peter Pan, written on behalf of Great Ormond Street Hopsital for Sick Children. I won the chance to write that in a worldwide competition, and because Peter Pan is loved everywhere, my book sold worldwide too. I can't say I expected that when, as a child, I dreamed of being like my older brother and getting a book published one day. These days I have a husband (who's good at continuity and spelling) and a daughter who is an excellent editor. But she's at the Royal Academy of Dramtic Art now, studying to become an actor. So, naturally, I have turned my hand to writing plays. (So many actors, so few plays!) My Mum told me, "Never boil your cabbages twice, dear," which was her way of saying, "Don't repeat yourself." So I have tried never to write the same book twice. You'll find all my novels quite different from one another. I have also done lots of retellings of myth, legend, folk and fairy tales, and adapted indigestible classics such as El Cid, the Epic of Gilgamesh, The Odyssey, Moby Dick, Shakespeare and the Pilgrim's Progress. Something for everyone, you see, my dear young, not-so-young, eccentric, middle-of-the-road, poetical, sad, cheerful, timid or reckless reader. All they have in common is that they all contain words. If you are allergic to words, you'd best not open the covers.
This review is from: Greek Gods And Goddesses (Hardcover)
The book's colorful illustrations and straight forward text makes this book great for a child's first introduction to mythology. I read this outloud to my 6 year old and she loved it. She could have read it by herself but she would not have been able to understand who the characters were. There is a glossary of gods and goddesses in the back but the stories themselves pretty much assume you know who they are. If you are buying this for a young child like mine make sure that you know the stories (or read them ahead of time) as they are still Greek mythology and some stories are violent. Also, some of the stories drag on for a couple of paragraphs after what "feels" like should be the end of the story. Overall, a great book and definate must have.
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