Persephone & the Giant Flowers: A QUIX Book (2) (Little Goddess Girls) - Softcover

Holub, Joan; Williams, Suzanne

Softcover

ISBN 10: 153443108X ISBN 13: 9781534431089

Publisher: Aladdin, 2019

Synopsis

Little Athena and Persephone travel to meet the great and powerful Zeus in this Wizard of Oz inspired Little Goddess Girls story—part of the Aladdin QUIX line!

After dropping onto the Hello Brick Road, little Athena and her new friend, the flowery Persephone, are on their way to meet the great and powerful Zeus at the top of magical Mount Olympus. While Athena is looking for help getting back home, Persephone would love to have Zeus cure her bad luck-itis and give her the gift of good luck so she can help her favorite flowers grow big and strong!

About this title

About the Author:

Joan Holub has authored and/or illustrated over 140 children’s books, including the Goddess Girls series, the Heroes in Training series, the New York Times bestselling picture book Mighty Dads (illustrated by James Dean), and Little Red Writing (illustrated by Melissa Sweet). She lives in North Carolina and is online at JoanHolub.com.

Suzanne Williams is a former elementary school librarian and the author of over seventy books for children, including the award-winning picture books Library Lil (illustrated by Steven Kellogg) and My Dog Never Says Please (illustrated by Tedd Arnold), and several chapter book and middle grade series. She also coauthors the Goddess Girls and Thunder Girls series with the fantastic Joan Holub. Visit her at Suzanne-Williams.com.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

Persephone & the Giant Flowers 1

Through the Crack

Whoosh! Persephone’s new friend, Athena, flew past her on golden winged sandals.

“Careful! You almost crashed into me!” Persephone shouted up to her. The leaves and flowers that grew from her dress fluttered wildly.

“Sorry!” Athena called back. “That’s why I need to practice!”

The white wings at the heels of her golden sandals whisked her back and forth. And then high in the air for a loop-the-loop.



Suddenly, the sandals took a big dive. Athena was zooming straight at Persephone now!

“Yikes!” Persephone leaped out of the way. The daisies that grew from the top of her head twirled.

“Slow down!” Athena told her sandals. For once, they obeyed. They floated her gently lower. Soon she was standing next to Persephone on the orange, blue, and pink Hello Brick Road.

“Wow,” said Persephone. “Great landing! You’re getting better!”

Athena smiled. “Thanks. There’s no magic in the land I came from. Learning to fly is hard!”

“Woof! Woof!”

Oliver, Athena’s little white dog, came bounding over. He’d been chasing butterflies. She scooped him up and gave him a big hug. Then he jumped down.

Athena and Persephone linked arms. They skipped down the road while Oliver trotted behind them. Up ahead they could see rainbow-colored sparkles. These were coming from Sparkle City, where they were heading. The city stood far away at the very top of magical Mount Olympus.

“Won’t you miss flying if you leave Mount Olympus forever?” Persephone asked.

Athena nodded. “But I want to go home. Zeus has to help me.” A storm had blown Athena to this magic land. Ever since, she had dreamed of getting back home.

“The super-duper powerful Zeus can do anything,” Persephone promised. “He’s king of the gods. We’ll go see him in Sparkle City. I’m sure he’ll give me the gift of good luck. And he’ll help you get back home.”

Persephone had bad luck-itis. Her bad luck was always rubbing off on others. So she really needed good luck. Besides, she loved growing things. With good luck she’d be able to help all plants grow strong and beautiful!

But the thought of Athena going home made her sad. Before they’d met, she’d never had a girl friend before. Only flower friends. Once her bad luck-itis was cured, she hoped the two of them would become best friends.

Persephone belonged here in Mount Olympus. She wished Athena would change her mind about going home. It would be great if she stayed here too!

“Hisss!” The girls jumped.

“Was that Medusa?” Persephone whispered. Medusa was a mean girl with wiggly green snakes for hair. She could turn you to stone with an eye zap! Had Persephone’s bad luck-itis brought her?

“No! Look!” said Athena. She pointed up in a tree. There was a furry animal sitting on one of its branches.

“Woof! Woof!” barked Oliver.

“Hisss!”

“Phew! It’s only a cat,” said Persephone. “I thought Medusa was back, trying to get her hands on your winged sandals.”

Hestia, a tiny, fairylike goddess, had warned them not to let Medusa take Athena’s sandals. Because the snake-haired girl might use their magic to make big trouble for Mount Olympus!

“Phew is right!” said Athena as they began walking again. “But as long as we stay here on the Hello Brick Road, that awful Medusa can’t hurt us. An owl named Pink Tail told me that.”

But Persephone was still worried. What if her bad luck-itis made the road lose its magic to keep them safe?

After a while the girls stopped to eat pomegranates from some trees at the side of the road.

Thump! Out of nowhere, a chariot pulled by four black horses appeared. It came rolling across a field beyond the trees.

Athena scrunched her nose. “Hey! There’s no one driving that.”

About this edition

• Publisher: Aladdin
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 153443108X
• ISBN 13: 9781534431089
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 96
• Illustrator: Chen Yuyi