Shapeshifters: Tales from Ovid's Metamorphoses - Hardcover

Mitchell, Adrian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1845075366 ISBN 13: 9781845075361

Publisher: Lincoln Children's Books, 2010

Synopsis

"Behold the great shapeshifter himself, boldly casting poetic spells." - Roger McGough "Adrian Mitchell makes these tales of human overreaching and natural vengeance sharply up to date. Children will be entranced, but there's plenty for adults too." - Andrew Marr

Bursting into life in the hands of Adrian Mitchell, here are 30 of the brightest, loveliest and most powerful myths ever written - stories of gods such as Jove, Apollo, Juno, Venus and Mercury and of mortals such as Daphne, Narcissus, Adonis, Phaeton and Persephone . Re-created from Ovid's Metamorphoses in stories, ballads and headline news, they sing aloud on the page. Breathtaking artwork by the most acclaimed fantasy illustrator of our time transforms the stories into a living, breathing children's classic to bewitch a new generation raised in a world of special effects.

About this title

About the Author:

Alan Lee, winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal, illustrated the centenary editions of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and, more recently, The Children of Hurin. He lives in South Devon, U.K.

Review:

Powerfully illustrated, this is a handsome introduction to some of the best-known stories about the Greek gods and goddesses and their legendary powers of transformation. Adrian Mitchell's vivid verse and prose retelings reflect the humor, pathos and often downright tragedy of each story by capturing the reasons for the shape-shifting and the usually devastating consequences of it....The Guardian

There's just time to mention an actual classic, Ovid's Metamorphoses, as reimagined by the late, great Adrain Mitchell. Shapeshifters humbles every other entrant on the list with its humanity. Smuggle it into the adults' stockings, too....The Independent on Sunday

There’s enough about humanity’s dreams and fears in Shapeshifters to last a child for life....The Times London

Adrian Mitchell's Shapeshifters is sub-titled Tales from Ovid's Metamorphoses. But the late poet was no dry-as-dust antiquary, and this collection remains super-accessible throughout. Sometimes in prose, elsewhere in poetry, it retells famous myths from King Midas to Orpheus in the Underworld. Sumptuously illustrated by Alan Lee, it is a book for ever as well as for all ages... The Independent UK

Transforming Ovid’s epic Metamorphoses into a book for children sounds like a tall order but the late poet Adrian Mitchell has pulled it off in style. SHAPESHIFTERS, with exquisite illustrations by Alan Lee, is a magical collection of stories and poems that bring to life the myths of Persephone, Icarus, King Midas and many more....Daily Express UK
Older children who like poetry and the ancient world will relish the powerful Shapeshifters: Tales from Ovid’s Metamorphoses by Adrian Mitchell with sinister but brilliant illustrations by Alan Lee Part poetry, part prose, it tells both familiar stories Persephone, Orpheus, the Minotaur and many less well known but just as dramatic....The Spectator UK

About this edition

• Publisher: Lincoln Children's Books
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1845075366
• ISBN 13: 9781845075361
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 144
• Illustrator: Lee Alan