A treasury of myths and legends contains tales of such well-loved figures as King Arthur, William Tell, and Babushka, and includes the Japanese folktale about a girl who falls for a lighthouse keeper and the Alaskan story, ""The Raven and the Moon.""
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Grade 4 Up. These tales are truly marvels?in both their meaningful content and in the teller's lyrical mastery of language. "The Harp of Dagda" is representative of the selections: it has a plot laced with adventure, a larger-than-life hero, a touch of magic, and an underlying message (here, about the power of art, the "web of captured dreams"). World culture has been ransacked for these valuables, mostly unknown (like the Hawaiian pig-faced god who courts the fire goddess, Pele, by slanging her in an insult contest), but even the known are so artfully retold that Rip Van Winkle and Sir Patrick Spens are given a new lease on life. The pictures are lively, amusing vignettes that do not compete with the superior text. A lapse in the source notes for a King Arthur story moves the Saxons back a thousand years, from A.D. 500 to 500 B.C. However, this criticism is an insignificant speck of tarnish on a truly gleaming collection.?Patricia Lothrop Green, St. George's School, Newport, RI
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Gr. 6^-8, younger for reading aloud. In this collection of 23 myths and legends, some stories are as familiar as Rip Van Winkle and the Tower of Babel, whereas others may be new to most readers. McCaughrean leads off with a Bolivian legend about how the early Spanish conquerors were outsmarted when they tried to strip the land of silver and enslave the people. She also includes a Scandinavian variant of how the sea became salty and a retelling of a Native American folktale about how a raven put the moon in the sky. Willey's rich illustrations enhance the text, though in the Maori tale "Dream Journey," they create some confusion: the text describes a large blonde woman, but the pictures depict a black woman. The author cites sources for some stories but not for others. Karen Morgan
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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More About the Author
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.
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.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Heavy Duty Multicultural Stories,
By "umpetra" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Silver Treasure: Myths and Legends of the World (Hardcover)
McCaughrean's follow-up to her acclaimed The Golden Hoard, The Silver Treasure is a rather quirky compendium of religious stories, myths, and folk tales. Mixed-media illustrations by Willey are large enough to enjoy but rather dark in tone, reflecting the somewhat heavier tone of these tales. A community's prayers for release from invaders is answered by the removal of much of their wealth; a Native American outcast happily lies down on the ocean's floor to spend eternity; "God Moves Away." These are definitely not bright and cheerful tales. Nevertheless, the stories are fascinating, and many of them will be unfamiliar to most readers, stemming from Maori, Chaga (Kenya), Basque, Bolivian, and other traditions. Those that are familiar are strange bedfellows, to say the least: the Biblical "Tower of Babel" and America's local legend "Rip Van Winkle" would rarely be classed in the same league, let alone printed in the same book. Relatively short and more serious than magical in tone, McCaughrean has done a good job of selecting from a wide variety of traditions to help create a new, multicultural version of The Fairy Books. It will be interesting to see which metal she next chooses to meld together such a diverse mix.
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