A-Maze-ing Minotaur - Hardcover

Rix, Juliet

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1847804314 ISBN 13: 9781847804310

Publisher: Lincoln Children's Books, 2014

Synopsis

King Minos keeps a strange and dangerous beast in the maze of narrow corridors beneath his castle, known as the Labyrinth. This is the dreaded Minotaur who, every nine years is fed a horrible meal of seven young men and seven young girls from Athens, sent down to the Labyrinth to their deaths. Once inside the Labyrinth no one is ever able to find their way out.
Theseus, prince of Athens, vows to kill the Minotaur, and he willingly sails to Crete with the other young Athenians destined to sate the beast's horrible hunger. Helped by the king's daughter, Ariadne, who has fallen in love with him, Theseus enters the Labyrinth, armed with his sword and a ball of golden thread. "Unravel it as you go into the maze and you will be able to find your way out" Ariadne tells the young man.
Will Theseus kill the Minotaur? Will he be able to get out of the maze? Follow Theseus on his quest, through the Labyrinth, and see if YOU can spot where the Minotaur is lurking, and if you can follow the thread and help Theseus escape?

About this title

About the Author:

Juliet Rix is an award winning freelance writer and broadcaster based in London. She started her career with BBC Television and Radio and writes for the Guardian, Times, Telegraph and Independent as well as magazines and websites.   Juliet has a degree in history of art and enjoys interviewing and writing on a wide range of subjects including the arts, history, social issues, health and travel. Trips to Crete – along with her sons’ love of mazes – inspired this book.  Juliet lives in north London.Juliet Snape studied at Cambridge School of Art and completed with a post-graduate in illustration at St Martin’s School of Art. Since then she has illustrated and written many picture books for children, including over 30 books with her husband, Charles. Their best selling giant-sized maze books (starting with The Fantastic Maze Book), for which Juliet painted huge scenes in acrylic, have sold across the world. Having a love for writing puzzles and creating mazes, they produce two highly acclaimed maths magazines for children, Circa and Buzz (www.circamaths.co.uk).  They live in north London.

From School Library Journal:

K-Gr 4—A diluted but satisfactory picture-book version of the terrifying tale of Theseus and the Minotaur. King Minos keeps the Minotaur, a half-man, half-bull monster, beneath his castle in a long and complex maze. Every nine years, Athens sends 14 children (seven girls and seven boys) to the king in order to feed the terrible beast as compensation for an unmentioned debt. Theseus, prince of Athens, joins the sacrificial group but swears to kill the Minotaur. Upon arrival, he meets Minos's daughter, Ariadne, who offers her assistance, helping Theseus to kill the Minotaur and escape. The bright watercolor illustrations were inspired by the Minoan paintings found at Knossos on the island of Crete. A glimpse of the terrible maze under the castle provides glimpses of the beast below while the principal action takes place in the palace above. Readers will enjoy following the twists and turns in a spread of the maze, which includes the bones of former occupants, broken pottery, and snakes. A brief account of the archaeological discovery of Knossos and a simple map of Crete and its surrounding geography is appended. Those seeking to round out their mythology collections will find this an acceptable choice.—Carol Connor, Cincinnati Public Schools, OH

About this edition

• Publisher: Lincoln Children's Books
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1847804314
• ISBN 13: 9781847804310
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Snape Juliet