From Publishers Weekly
From the Judgment of Paris to Algonquian tales of Gluskap, the grandly scaled (9 x 12/") A World Treasury of Myths, Legends, and Folktales: Stories from Six Continents, edited by Renata Bini, trans. from the Italian by Alexandra Bonfante-Warren, illus. by Mikhail Fiodorov, retells 33 stories from every continent except Antarctica. Dynamic color illustrations on every page reflect the provenance of each taleAe.g., pictures accompanying a story about the gods Izanagi and Izanami suggest a traditional Japanese style, while those for a tale of Isis and Osiris share the same perspective and style as Egyptian tomb paintings. (Abrams, $24.95 128p ages 8-12 ISBN 0-8109-4554-1; Nov.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 3-6-The brief retellings collected here span cultures from around the globe, with approximately one-quarter of them from Native North American sources. By necessity, the simple texts are condensed, using summarization techniques that weaken the action-packed stories. Climactic segments are limp. For example, Theseus's face-off with the Minotaur is reduced to, "The beast was very powerful and Theseus struggled for a long time. Several times he feared he was about to die, but he eventually managed to run his sword through the Minotaur." Bini includes "People and Places in Mythology," which divides the stories by continent and provides a paragraph summary about the characters and places, but there is no precise documentation. Fiodorov's skillful illustrations accurately reflect the text, making for an attractive presentation that will draw readers. A satisfactory further-reading list is appended.
Nancy Call, Santa Cruz Public Libraries, Aptos, CA Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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