Greek Myths - Softcover

Williams, Marcia

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0763653845 ISBN 13: 9780763653842

Publisher: Candlewick, 2011

Synopsis

"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.

About this title

From School Library Journal

Grade 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
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly

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.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Candlewick
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0763653845
• ISBN 13: 9780763653842
• Binding: Paperback
• Illustrator: Williams Marcia
• Number of pages: 40