Perseus

Hutton, Warwick

ISBN 10: 0689505655 ISBN 13: 9780689505652

Publisher: Margaret K McElderry, 1993

Synopsis

In a dramatic retelling of the ancient Greek myth, Perseus, a young hero, embarks on a perilous, adventure-filled quest to kill Medusa, a Gorgon that, with one look, can turn people into stone.

About this title

Reviews

Kindergarten-Grade 3-- One of the most powerful myths, Perseus has everything: a mother and child locked in a chest and set on the sea to die, an evil king who sends the grown Perseus on a deadly quest, Gray Sisters who share one tooth and one eye among them, a cap of invisibility, winged sandals, a magic sickle, Gorgons with live snakes for hair, a naked damsel chained to cliff, and bad guys turned to statues right and left. Hutton's clear prose tells much, but its brevity may raise many questions. Nonetheless, children will be caught up in the action-packed adventure. The watercolor art is as typically graceful as that on a Greek vase--blue, green, and gold with touches of russet. Perseus is beautiful, smooth-skinned with no muscles. Medusa looks like an ancient tribal mask, not frightening, but true to the old retellings that describe her as having tusks and a thick tongue. However, the Medusa of the mind's eye is more awe-inspiring. No other picture book editions are currently available. Longer retellings are certainly more satisfying, but this could be used to introduce the myth to primary graders. --Helen Gregory, Grosse Pointe Public Library, MI
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Hutton's customarily expressive watercolors bring both beauty and solemnity to the tale of Medusa's slayer. Cast adrift at birth because of a prophecy that he would one day kill his grandfather, Perseus is manipulated into pursuit of the hideous Gorgon's head by a king who desires his mother--and who is, of course, later turned to stone when Perseus displays his bounty. The vistas Hutton portrays, many of which suggest vast expanses of sea and sky under an unchanging, seemingly pitiless sun, form an eloquent, ironic commentary on the struggles and frequent cruelty of mankind--struggles to which not even the gods are inured. (One of the most powerful scenes depicts a seated, diminutive Perseus bathed in moonlight at Athene's and Hermes's feet.) The myth itself may have less contemporary resonance than others interpreted by this artist: in it, for example, beauty and goodness are closely and repeatedly allied. And, uncharacteristically, Hutton leaves the story open-ended, never returning to the prophecy whose eventual fulfillment is an integral part of the myth. Still, an evocative interpretation of a cornerstone of Greek lore. Ages 7-up.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

An accomplished illustrator with several biblical and classical retellings to his credit recounts the Greek myth about the hero who, with the gods' help, beheads the terrible Gorgon Medusa, then confronts the evil king who sent him on his dread errand with the head (snaky locks still writhing), thus turning him into stone. Hutton's prose is a less-than-graceful amalgam of colloquial phrasing with the odd vivid word (``thrashed''; ``screeched''), but at least he presents the traditional story, including the rescue of Andromeda, in a straightforward and accessible manner. His illustrations--the trademark hatching and delicate pen lines, the sparingly applied watercolors--are the book's best feature, the figures at once airily weightless and heroic, the clear and luminous Aegean light connoting the unsullied early world. (But why does the sun look like a fried egg?) An attractive edition of a great mythical adventure. (Mythology/Picture book. 7-10) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Margaret K McElderry
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0689505655
• ISBN 13: 9780689505652
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 1