Greek Myths

by Marcia Williams, Marcia Williams (Illustrator)

Overview

"Even reluctant readers (let alone closet classicists) will be drawn to pore over these entrancing pages. — School Library Journal

Greek myths are among the most exciting stories ever told. In this collection, Marcia Williams offers a fun but faithful retelling of eight myths using simple language and her signature comic-strip format. Panels and spreads brimming with color, decorative detail, and nonstop action make each tale a pleasure to look at, and speech bubbles add modern humor. This indispensable collection is the perfect way to introduce young readers to the power of myth.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763653842
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	02/08/2011
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	410,248
Product dimensions:	9.80(w) x 12.20(h) x 0.10(d)
Age Range:	5 - 9 Years

Editorial Reviews

This irreverently funny book is just right for children 9 and up who shy away from anything that smacks of schoolwork and can be a bridge to territory they might otherwise never visit.
—Los Angeles Times

Williams's approach is to be faithful in fact and setting, but modern in humor and attitude. The retellings are quite accurate . . . but above all they are witty and fast-paced . . . It's a triumph of layout . . . Even reluctant readers (let alone closet classicists) will be drawn to pore over these entrancing pages.
—School Library Journal

Will persuade a broad range of kids to become culturally literate . . . The cleverly cartooned characters and the ballooned remarks add an irreverent zest . . . Good drawing . . . and time-tested stories raise this several cuts above modern superheroes.
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, recommended review

From the Publisher

Featuring vibrant colors, detailed borders and comic-strip panels spilling over with farcical antics and asides, Williams's watercolor and pen-and-ink artwork is reminiscent of her illustrations for Joseph and His Magnificent Coat of Many Colors . Though readers on the young edge of the intended audience may miss the moral of some of these familiar and lesser-known myths, Williams has condensed the plots deftly, adding pithy comments (``Fat chance''; ``Where's the welcoming committee?''; ``This village is a dump!'') that help to modernize the material. Although she does not shy away from the beatings, killings and bloodshed incorporated in a few of the myths, her drawings will be deemed gory by only the most conservative viewers, and are not likely to pose a problem for children. Rather, this animated, oversize volume offers a lighthearted look at some timeless tales. Ages 5-up. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Gr 1-6-- There's a challenge here for everyone who is sure that another collection of Greek myths will never circulate: put a plain brown wrapper on this oversize book and watch kids fight for what look like comic strips. The eight tales all feature humans, not gods (Pandora, Arion, Orpheus, Heracles, Daedalus, Perseus, Theseus and Arachne), but the funny-looking figures are hardly heroic. Williams's approach is to be faithful in fact and setting, but modern in humor and attitude. The retellings are quite accurate, even down to obscure (and sometimes gruesome) details, but above all they are witty and fast-paced. Plot is compressed into concise captions, but dialogue balloons hold irreverent asides from the cast. The cartoon format is brilliantly colorful, with bright, folk-patterned, decorative borders. It's a triumph of layout: only in the labors of Heracles does the panel design seem congested. Even reluctant readers (let alone closet classicists) will be : drawn to pore over these entrancing pages. --Patricia Dooley, University of Washington, Seattle

School Library Journal