Mythical Birds and Beasts from Many Lands [Hardcover]

Margaret Mayo (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up

Ten magical tales depict special birds and animals from all over the world, including the Native American thunderbird who steals lovely women, the unicorn who can purify poison, and the Chinese golden dragon."

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 6. The creators of Magical Tales from Many Lands (Dutton, 1993) offer folktales and lore about mythical beasts, from unicorns, mermaids, and dragons to thunderbirds, nagas, and phoenixes. The 10 stories are from a variety of cultures and are narrated in an informal yet smooth storytelling style, often with light, effective touches of humor. Mayo makes a curious choice in her retelling of the story of the Minotaur, however; the princess Ariadne leaves Theseus due to seasickness. In most versions of the myth, Theseus abandons her under orders from one of the gods or goddesses. Mayo's source notes are virtually impeccable, incorporating information to enhance the story as well as at least one specific source for each story, except for the tale about the Minotaur. Ray's distinctive textured paintings are lush and full paged, with plenty of motifs, borders, and smaller illustrations scattered across the pages. The earthy palette adds mystery and magic to the text, and her restrained use of gold highlighting is, as always, highly effective. The large physical format with clear type and lots of white space is particularly appealing. Perfect for independent readers or reading aloud, this collection will also have wide appeal among storytellers.?Donna L. Scanlon, Lancaster County Library, PA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 4^-6, younger for reading aloud. In the same large format as Mayo and Ray's Magical Tales from Many Lands (1993), this collection retells Greek myths concerning Pegasus and the Minotaur, an English mermaid tale, a European unicorn story, a Native American thunderbird tale, a dragon story from China, a Scandinavian sea-serpent tale told in the Orkney Islands, a feathered snake legend from Central America and Mexico, a Burmese story of the Naga, and an Egyptian legend of the Phoenix. Beautifully written for reading aloud, the stories all have the economy of word, grace of phrase, and drama of narrative that arise from the storytelling tradition. Just as lively and well crafted are Ray's colorful illustrations, imaginative full-page paintings as well as smaller pictures. Stylized in approach, the paintings glow with rich colors and gold highlights. Borders for each story reflect the visual arts of its cultural origins. Appended notes offer information about the 10 traditional, magical creatures and sources for the tales. Carolyn Phelan

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile; 1st Amer. ed edition (May 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525457887
• ISBN-13: 978-0525457886
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,564,665 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mythical Birds and Beasts, February 4, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Mythical Birds and Beasts from Many Lands (Hardcover)

My daughter loves myths and folk tales; and she really enjoyed Mythical Birds and Beasts. The illustrations are beautiful and numerous; the myths in language easy to understand. (This is not an extremely short book, however. Not a picture book.) It includes stories about famous mythical creatures such as the unicorn and mermaid, and some that I had never heard of before such as the feathered snake or the Naga.