A Wonder Book: Heroes and Monsters of Greek Mythology (Dover Children's Evergreen Classics) [Paperback]

Nathaniel Hawthorne (Author), Children's Classics (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: Dover Children's Evergreen Classics

Evil creatures, magical feats, and adventure abound in this classic archive of 6 ancient tales. A captivating recounting for youngsters by one of America's greatest writers. "The Gorgon's Head," "The Golden Touch," "The Paradise of Children," "The Three Golden Apples," "The Miraculous Pitchers," and "The Chimaera."

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (December 12, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486432092
• ISBN-13: 978-0486432090
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #441,211 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #17 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( H ) > Hawthorne, Nathaniel
  • #30 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Social Science > Folklore & Mythology

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great book about greek mythology., April 24, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: A Wonder Book: Heroes and Monsters of Greek Mythology (Dover Children's Evergreen Classics) (Paperback)

The book, A Wonder Book, is a good book about Greek mythology. This adventurous book includes Medusa, Perseus, Hercules, Pegasus and many more well known characters. The stories are told by a man named Eustace Bright. He is telling all the stories to a couple curious children. The children enjoy the stories a lot and always want to hear them. Each story is told in a different place and time. Each tale is different and interesting. I recommend this book to curious children and teens that are interested in Greek mythology.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kid-Friendly Adventures, April 18, 2011

By 

Eric Wilson "novelist" (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: A Wonder Book: Heroes and Monsters of Greek Mythology (Dover Children's Evergreen Classics) (Paperback)

If you've read Hawthorne's longer works, you might be surprised by the storytelling fun and energy he puts into this shorter book aimed at boys and girls of all ages, 8 to 80, who love a good yarn. Imagine yourself on a whispery, wintery day, sledding on the hillsides with friends. Or imagine yourself gathered with the kids on the front porch on a golden, summery afternoon. Now add to these settings Hawthorne's inventive narrator, Eustace Bright, who gathers the children round on that hillside or porch and gives them the classic myths with his own unique spins.

If you think you know the stories of King Midas and his golden touch, of Hercules' exploits, of Medusa, you have here the chance to rediscover them in child-friendly, yet fully adventurous form, through the skills of Mr. Nathaniel Hawthorne. He gives the old tales a lot of charm, makes them palatable for younger kids, and weaves in lessons of ethics and morality and courage. I have always appreciated Hawthorne's more thought-provoking writings, but here I find another side to the man and the writer that is magical and light.

I've long been a fan of Hawthorne's short stories. While he plays out some amazing themes and characters in "A Scarlet Letter," "House of the Seven Gables," and even "The Blithedale Romance," he excels in his shorter tales, where the prose has less room to run off track and the themes are better addressed. He seems serious in most of his writing, with only hints of his humor and playfulness, but in "A Wonder Book," we find a side of Hawthorne that's hard not to adore.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A bit wordy, October 2, 2010

By 

D. Baudoin - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Wonder Book: Heroes and Monsters of Greek Mythology (Dover Children's Evergreen Classics) (Paperback)

I bought this for my ten year old daughter so she could have some extra reading to go along with what she is learning in her gifted class. It has some good stories, and the content is age appropriate, but the language is overly elegant. It is written very poetically and is far too wordy for a 10 year old. I enjoy reading and even I was bored and tired of reading by the end of the first tale.