Mythology and Folklore Books

Excellent reference book, good illustrations, text and comprehensive. Only one minor complaint, the book is so small. Width wise it is about 4" which makes it difficult to hold open. Next time it's reprint, please widen it just a little.

This is a really good book, but I have several different ones along this line and cross reference with all of them. Each gives a slight different view/perspective, which helps for a better/full rounded interpretation.

This book has been very good resource for some art work that I am producing.

I have been using this book as a reference for years. It is a wonderful book, full of information from a wide variety of cultures and disciplines. My only disappointment in the book is that it is not three times larger. I would love to see it expanded to include more symbols.

The Herder Dictionary of Symbols: Symbols from Art, Archaeology, Mythology, Literature, and Religion
by Boris Matthews

I bought this small book on symbols for the primary purpose of guiding my 'deliberate doodling' as well as mind-mapping processes. It's compact & handy for quick reference. It has more than 1,000 entries & 450 illustrations.

It is, in fact, the only symbol book I owned at this moment. It has symbols from art, archaeology, mythology, literature & religion.

Should be required reading in our schools. Mr. Ford has written an enlightening book that answers the many questions pondered by americans of African origin. So many things explained prompted me to write "The Aha!" in the margin. Superb work. Thank you.

This is an excellent book. I'd give it 100 stars if I could. Like another reader wrote, I wish I had found this book sooner. Every African and African-American should read this book. Thank you so much, Mr. Ford. I'll keep my review simple because I could go on forever. This book puts African myths in their rightful place: as legitimate, awesome, powerful stories that explain the human condition and our connection to the creator. All myths sprang from the African ones and Ford does a masterful job in explaining why myths are important to our lives today.

I've read this book twice and will probably read it once more, because I learn something new with every reading. This is such an essential book for understanding not only the importance of myth, but Africa's far-reaching contribution. Ford's book traces the genesis of myth and belief systems and shows an evolution that not only surfaces in other cultures, but even in the bible. A masterful documentary that takes us all on a hero's and heroine's journey

Increasingly, happily (albeit painfully)the new question for modern man and woman is "Am I my black brother's (sister's) keeper?" Conversely, "Am I my white brother's (sister's) keeper?" The answer is a resounding "Yes!". This book is a tremendous contribution toward the fulfillment of that Dream, toward a universal Philadelphia (phila = love; delphia = brother): the City of Brotherly Love, genuine agape, Unconditional Agape.

Clyde W. Ford helps us to connect to African mythology on so many levels. It is encouraging and illuminating to finally see African mythology treated in the manner that it deserves: as vital as those of any other culture. He demonstrates the importance of myth for centering our lives and providing focus for living. His discussion of the meaning and role of myth in the preface is worth the price of the book alone.

I am listening to the audio version of this book and it is so rich in detail and history, Jeff Guinn paints a picture-it's like I'm there! Not just the history of Christmas but of the World, this book has politics, traditions and whimsy all rolled into one.
If you believe in the magic of Santa (and you know you do) this book is a must read.

All of Jeff Guinn's books are centered on Santa Claus and his real life persona. The books are absolutely vivid and striking. The Autobiography of Santa Claus was the better of the first two books, but How Mrs. Claus Saved Christmas was also great. The books detail real history and interwine facts of Santa Claus and his life into the historical facts. It's a great read for Christmas time and for anyone who ever believed in Santa Claus.

I love this book. It was great to get some historical facts in with fiction. I am not an active reader and this one kept me interested to the end

The year is 1620. While Santa Claus is off in the New World aka America, getting a new group of people interested in the spirit of giving, and what is now known as Christmas, Mrs. Claus has been left behind in England. It's a lovely country, but when signs of officials banning all types of Yuletide cheer begin popping up everywhere Mrs. Claus looks, she realizes that it's time to take matters into her own hands. It's bad enough that the Puritans have gained complete control of Parliament, but when, in the year 1647 a law punishing any and all who celebrate Christmas is passed, Mrs. Claus realizes that Christmas is in true danger, and it's up to her, without the help of her beloved Saint Nick, to save the marvelous holiday before it's destroyed forever.

I read Jeff Guinn's THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SANTA CLAUS when it was first released, and devoured every word of it. Yet I had no idea he would be able to weave the exact same sort of magic with its sequel HOW MRS. CLAUS SAVED CHRISTMAS. As with the first installment in the Christmas Chronicles, Guinn has put together a delightful holiday fiction tale, and laced it with rich historical facts - including the marching of ten thousand peasants in Canterbury who protested their right to celebrate Christmas in the year 1647. A charming piece of fiction that will certainly delight and educate all!

Erika Sorocco

In this sequel to his classic book The Autobiography of Santa Claus, Jeff Guinn tells a new tale of Christmas in peril. In the first book, Guinn took the historical facts about St. Nicholas and the various people who contributed to the Santa Claus legend around the world and wove them into a beautiful life story. In this book, he continued that tradition, taking the troubles of the English Civil War as a backdrop for a tale about Santa's wife, Layla. Staying behind in England to manage their affairs there while her husband begins his time in the American colonies, Layla finds herself at the forefront of a movement to protect Christmas from a Puritan reformation that wants to stomp out anything reminiscent of Catholicism in England. Layla is forced to flee to Canterbury, where she lives for a time with friends Alan and Elizabeth Hayes and their daughter Sara. As Oliver Cromwell amasses power in London, Layla and her friends concoct a daring plan to show Parliament that the people of England will never stand for Christmas being stolen from them.

Like The Autobiography of Santa Claus, this is a beautiful story that weaves together fact with fantasy to produce a thoroughly satisfying tale. In fact, this may even be a superior book to the original, in that it has a much more cohesive story. By necessity, Autobiography reads like a person's life story, hitting the high points but not really holding onto a compelling narrative thread to push the plot along. This new book is focused on a relatively brief period of time instead of the thousands of years in the first book, and on a single issue -- the attempt by the Puritans to squelch out Christmas in the 1640s. As such, it's a much stronger book simply from a storytelling standpoint.

Like the original, this book is written in 24 chapters -- making it quite convenient for parents to read a chapter a day to the little ones in December, finishing up on Christmas Eve. I don't have any kids myself yet, but I have every intention of doing this once I do. I also just found out that Guinn has produced a third book, The Great Santa Search, and I'll definitely be rushing out to get my copy before the holidays are over.

This book is fabulous. I grew up watching these stories come to like on the Jim Henson Hour, and I love having these stories at my finger tips. The stories are very intersting and original. The art work in the book is also fabulous!! They match the television portrail of story exactly. I am so glad that I am able to read and share these stories with my friends and family!

The television series was one of the best things ever to be shown on TV, but it's more than worthwhile to pick up this book just to be able to focus on Anthony Minghella's (yep, he of "The English Patient") way with words. Minghella doesn't just write good narration, he writes good, old-fashioned *story-telling* Like, say, Kipling's "Just-So Stories," Minghella's "The Storyteller" captures the language of the very best tale tellers.

Many years ago my family sat around the television, wide eyed and filled with magic; we were watching the Jim Henson Storyteller series. We waited and waited for it to reappear one day- to no avail. But FINALLY, a book! To be able to relive the "hugs and snoodles" of Hans My Hedghog, the stone soup tale of a "Story Short"- all of it beautifully, and creatively written, with illustrations to match- will take you back to your childhood. I find it hard to believe this has yet to be discovered. Don't miss the videos that are now out, at long last!

Perfection is the TV series that preceded this book. Of course, I must gloat and say that I knew all those many years ago that Anthony Minghella was the most exquisite writer I had ever heard/read. His words coupled with the genius of Jim Henson and company made for the best (no exaggeration) thing ever to be broadcast on television. To be able to read the words from these shows and have them readily available on your bookshelf is heaven. I've been recommending the TV series and this book for years. I still recommend it today.

Just so you know, all 9 episodes of The Storyteller are now out on a single DVD - something many of us have been waiting for for years. This book is, I think, the original screenplay of Jim Henson's Storyteller series because it follows *very* closely to the stories and dialogue seen on TV. The illustrations are also taken from the show and are very nice. The written word is different from television, however, and these stories take on a different light often in one versus the other, and there are some expansions here that didn't make the final editing cuts.

My kid and I love "The Storyteller" series, and this book is a pleasant addition for bedtime reading.

King Midas has always been one of my very favorite stories I remember hearing it as a kid and never ever forgetting cause its that original! so I looked long and hard for the very best version of it and surely found it with Stewig and Rayyan's take on such a classic. Page by page it is a smorgasbord for the eyes! As soon as I received it and read it I was enchanted and very pleased with my purchase cause often I search and search for versions of such tales as "Hansel and Gretel" or "Jack and the beanstalk" and find myself pretty disappointed cause their Grimm stories and lets face it its hard to not make them a little scary for kids and when it came to King Midas of course it was a little easier cause you don't have the words like "die or hate" in them but it still needed fine tuning from the version I read as a kid cause I remember mine being a little dark but not this book in fact the very last line of this and I won't spoil it for those who intend to purchase brought tears to my eyes, its that beautifully constructed. So if youre looking for the best version of a very "golden tale" this is worth its weight in gold!

King Midas, the Classic Greek tale, presents the question if whether what you truly value is what you TRULY value? When King Midas turns even his own daughter and cat to cold gold ... he sees that wealth is not just in your value of your hard assets.

The story of King Midas is quite possibly the first classical myth that your children will learn; it's clever, humorous, moralistic, and (rarest of all in the massive canon of myths) has a happy ending! Those Greeks were great storytellers. As such, there are hundreds of Midas retellings out there - perhaps best known is K. Y. Craft's exquisitely illustrated version which I would also highly recommend. But if you're looking for the best - the very best; then (as much as I adore Craft's beautiful work) I'm going to have to recommend John Warren Stewig and Omar Rayyan's collaboration. By Craft's own admission, her illustrations for the myth take on a more Victoriana style, which - as beautiful as they are - grate slightly within the context of a classical myth, whilst Rayyan's illustrations are quintessentially Greek/Roman.

Painted in delicate watercolours in a style that is cartoonish and yet still realistic, Rayyan's creations light up the page. Throughout, there are several sly and humorous features hidden within the pictures, such as reoccurring sub-characters, modern elements and mythological creatures that frequent Midas's palace and watch the proceedings with languid interest. Especially well done is the mysterious stranger (never named, but obviously Dionysus/Bacchus what with his vines and leopard skin), and his wise, lazy, amused expressions; the face of a god.

But to match these gorgeous illustrations must be a narrative to match. In this Stewig adequately and often poignantly retells the famous story of the foolish king; in love with gold only a little less than with his pretty daughter Marygold. When a stranger offers him the gift of the Golden Touch Midas accepts without hesitation, certain that it is the key to his happiness: anything that he touches will magically transform into gold.

The following day brings the gift: his clothes, his furniture and his flowers are transformed - but then so are his spectacles, his food and then tragically, his beloved daughter. Cursing his newfound `gift', Midas willingly gives it back, restoring all he changed with the cleansing waters of the River Pactolus. Now he delights in telling his grandchildren: "Ever since that morning, I cannot stand the sight of gold, except in your hair."

But I really must go back to those illustrations! The modern elements - such as alarm clocks, sunglasses and "Plato Poseidon Puffs" brand cereal - far from being obtrusive, fit wonderfully into the context of the story, being both funny and whimsical. Likewise are the range of mythological creatures - centaurs, mermaids, fauns, satyrs, cherubs, harpies, minotaurs (and sometimes a blending of these creatures) - as well as Midas's exotic pets, who all tell their own little tales as they dart in and out of the illustrations. There are also little cameo appearances by characters from other books - but I could talk about the pictures for ages when I should really leave it up to yourself to discover. All in all, as perfect a picture book as you could wish to find with hours of entertainment to be found in the text and illustrations.

For reasons of my own, I recently set out to find the best possible picture book version of the tale of King Midas. I'm sure you've done the same yourself in your crazy youth. Now depending on how you characterize a picture book as the "best", there are many wonderful version of Midas out there. If you're a fan of prolific Demi's classical style then, "King Midas: The Golden Touch" is your best bet. If, on the other hand, you're addicted to eye-candy treats like those found in Charlotte Craft's, "King Midas and the Golden Touch", then there you would find your quintessential version. But for all Craft and Demi's charms, I give an excessive amount of credit to any picture book that is both faithful to its original story and hilarious to boot. Enter "King Midas" by John Warren Stewig. As well-told as the Demi tale and as lovely to the eye (in an entirely original way) as the Craft, "King Midas" provides one-stop-shopping for the reader looking for the "best" in Midas fare. A tip of the hat to the author. A tip of the hat to the illustrator.

There once was a man named Midas. He was a king and loved better than anything (except, possibly, his daughter) gold. It finally got to the point where Midas spent all his time in a room full of the stuff and it was there than he one day is visited by "some sort of god". The stranger offers Midas his greatest wish i.e. to have the Golden Touch. The next morning Midas wakes up and changes bedspreads, posts, curtains, and all sorts of stuff into gold. Things start turning for the worse when Midas goldifies his reading glasses. Then he finds that he can't eat or drink (with great pictures showing this to be the case). When his daughter attempts to comfort him, she too becomes gold and Midas is perturbed, to say the least. Back comes the stranger and Midas, repenting, is given a chance to change everything that is gold back again. He does so with water from the river (drenching his now thoroughly confused daughter) and for the rest of his days cannot stand the sight of that yellow mineral, except perhaps in the hair of his children and grandchildren.

The story is retold well here. Stewig has a keen ear and continually keeps the tale interesting. He does not modernize the reading or make it sound overly formal in any way. Instead, he provides us with a straightforward retelling that loses none of its humor in its faithfulness to the original text. That said, it's illustrator Omar Rayyan that deserves most of the credit for this one. First of all, as an official member of the Omar Rayyan Fan Club, I'd like to ask the man personally why he doesn't do MORE children's books these days? As far as I can determine, Mr. Rayyan does a lot of covers of children's books (his paperback cover for Susan Cooper's, "The Boggart" is so clever that I doubt that few people who see it will appreciate it) and once in a while will deign to do a picture book as well. The very few times he does, the results are continually eye-popping. In "King Midas", Rayyan goes for an over-the-top style that is filled with little in-jokes, visual beauties, and wonderful sweeping states. Peppering his pages with centaurs, harpies, fauns, and sphinxes, the story is both classic and helplessly modern. After the initial reading, kids will want to try a second or a third in an attempt to catch all the little details scattered about the place. Did you see the Atlas character mocked by Taurus? Did you notice that Midas wears Apollo Feet sandals or feeds his kitty Spot leopard chow? It seems odd to say, but what Rayyan has done here is combine the beautiful with the humorous into a single perfect picture book. While trying to outdo one another in cleverness, the illustrations in this book are also exceedingly lovely. This is a difficult combination (not to say impossible). I only wish the book was better known as a result.

Craft lovers may take me to task, but to my mind no Midas book has come to exceed or improve on that 1999 classic by Stewig and Rayyan. If you're looking for the one version of the story to proclaim to the masses, this be it, my pretties. This be it.

The story is a classic and Stewig did a wonderful job retelling it but in my opinion what really makes the book are the illustrations. Every time I go through the book I find something new in the pictures that I missed before. The book is full of visual jokes and allusions to greek mythology (like a cereal box full of "Poseidon Puffs" and a man with feathered wings falling from the sky). It is one of the most skillfuly (and definatly the most humerously) illustrated childrens books I have seen.

If you have any experience with Dover publications, you'll know to expect something terrific. You won't be mistaken. Odell Shepard presents a work of such thorough, painstaking scholarship, it should be held up as a model for what scholarship ought to be. In fact, you get a pretty good sense of the history of scholarliness itself, reading this. If you find yourself sort of hypnotized by the excitement of looking over the shoulders of centuries worth of savants, I recommend you also read anything by Anthony Grafton, who writes about issues in the history of Renaissance scholarship. Another thing -- what a beautiful writing style this Odell Shepard possesses. His prose is characterized by an exacting usage of language (languages, I should say, because he apparently has a fluency with Latin, Greek, French, Italian, and probably other languages as well), and also by a taste for baroque, nineteenth century sentence structure. Really beautiful stuff. He loves his subject, and he loves the way it has been handed down through the ages. Two thumbs up.

I've been looking for a while for an all-encompassing, in-depth text on the historical significance and study of the unicorn. This book is it. It is filled to the brim with hundreds and hundreds of facts, accounts, testimonials, examinations and analyses of the unicorn throughout history. I was deeply disappointed in reading Roy Wilkinson's sappy "Are You A Unicorn?" This book compensates extensively where other books about the unicorn have failed. Especially interesting are juxtaposed conjectures and certainties of the unicorn. Wonderfully written and thoroughly researched, this is the truest guide to the Unicorn if ever there was one.

i wanted an indepth look at the history and origin of the unicorn. i got it. this book is incredibly well reaserched and very thorough. probably the best book on mythological animals i have ever seen. the only complaint i had was that the author seemed a bit taken with himself. i kept a dictionary next to the book and used it on an average of once every two to three pages. he also tended to quote from the greek and latin, and neglect to translate it. but for a serious knowledge quest or research on a paper, this is the book you want.

I recieved my first copy when it first came out! It was one of my first unicorn books, and i was just a kid. I loved it, it got me into history, mythology and helped me understand a lot about the unicorn in general.

this book is a great reference for unicorn mythology, lore, pictoral reference and anything else you can use it for. I have actually used it in my own artwork , i have done illustrations of all the unicorns in the book, as a kid i had made it a goal, the unicorn, monoceras, kirrin, abath, re'em and everything in between. it was actually a book that got me to get up and do something. it got me to study that mythical beast that is always in my dreams and near me in some way...

from the mythology of the unicorn's creation, to Jesus, to Satan to whatever else this creature has pranced though

You can tell so much how dedicated this author was, i have even found references in fiction and fantasy books about this author and his wonderful book (Unicorn Mountain). this book is a must-have, must-read book for anyone who likes unicorns. It is always in the bibliography section of unicorn books, and it itself has a great bibliography, which i love so that i can get those books!!

i recommend this book above all others if you like the rich history of the elusive and magnificent Unicorn!

This is a very academic, dry text so not especially suited to light reading. However, if you want to know unicorns inside and out, this is the book to go too. It's extremely in-depth and covers many, many myths and beliefs of unicorns across time and culture. Anyone who really wants to understand unicorns and their position in history and culture should make an effort to read this book.

This is the tale that has been faithfully transmitted by parents to children throughout the generations in Chinese families.

I remember I was a wee little kid of 6 when my mother told me about the Twelve Lunar Animals. I wasted no time in memorizing all the 12 animals in their order. I supposed it also helped to speed up my arithmetic too, since I would then automatically mentally figure out the Lunar Animal of all my relatives by their birth years. (How gleeful I was to discover that the fierce Aunt was naturally, a Dragon and his gentle, sheepish husband a...Sheep.) My cousin doesn't like to eat beef. He's an Ox, no wonder. My little brother was a terror. He's a Tiger.

My grandmother would have fantastic elaborations on each Animal, their strengths and characteristics and how they influence people's actions. It was and still is the coolest thing I've ever heard.

When the Power Rangers and their respective `Hidden Animal' became popular years later, I pooh-poohed it. Been there, done that.

My Mom is a Dragon And My Dad is a Boar is a collection of beautiful illustrations of the twelve Lunar Animals in paper cut form; plus a brief and easily understood monograph of each Animal. As per every Chinese calendar, the years for which each Animal represents are given as well.

The book begins with the story of the convention that the Lord Buddha held one day to determine the 12 Lunar Animals. The first twelve to arrive in his court would be selected. And the Animals set off. Why is the first Animal the Rat? And why isn't the Cat amongst the twelve? Could there be a reason why cats chase rats now? This book is an elegant and vehicle to transport this age-preserved legend of the Chinese into the generation the 21st century.

I appreciate that the animals are depicted in beautiful calligraphic fashion by the talented calligrapher and artist Kong Lee, along with their Chinese characters. Written by Asia enthusiast Tricia Morrissey, one characteristic that stands out in this book is that the total absence of any attempt to `westernize' the Animals. The pictures and descriptions are just as how my grandmother would tell them, celestial and majestic instead of barn-like.

I trust that this book will open up a whole world of imagination and thrill for your 5 year olds, and instill in them a deep sense and awe of heritage.

This is the only children's book that I proudly display on my bookshelf. It's a very special book to me.

This is a great book which tells about the 12 animals of Chinese lunar calendar. The book is beautifully printed and illustrated, you and your kids will enjoy it!

Wonderful book for introducing one aspect of the Chinese culture to all children. A simple way to explain a cultural prospective to a young child that has historical merit and not weighted with any political biasness. The graphics are sharp and crisp with an Asian musique.

This book was a wonderful introduction to Chinese culture for my children and myself. The writing is superb! It is great to find a book that my children love as much as I do. The artwork is new and different for us and lead to fun and creative projects of our own.

This book is a great find for anyone and a great resource for teachers or homeschoolers.

Night Flying Woman is a marvelous little book that captures the essence of the Ojibway way of life. The story speaks about reverence of all - the earth, the animals, the trees, and our fellow women and men. We are all intertwined in a reality that encompasses all. Although this is a major lesson in the Judeo-Christian heritage as well, we Christians have forgotten this lesson from the story of creation. Night Flying Woman helps to reconnect with this web of life of which we are all a part.

In addition to the wonderful story, the book contains evocative and moving artwork. It also contains something that is missing from too many books - a glossary of words that are unfamiliar to the average reader. This was a GREAT help.

It was a great read. The more I read about the Ojibway the more I wish I had been born sooner so that I could have lived with my ancestors the way we were meant to. I cried when I was done reading it. I would recommend this book to anyone whether you care about the people or not!

In "Night Flying Woman, An Ojibway Narrative," Ignatia Broker tells the story of the forest people, the Ojibway. She shows how the white man's ways desecrated the rituals, laws and beliefs of the Native People, all but erasing their long culture. Classed as caricatures in a land that once honored them, Broker shows how the Native People "faced bias, prejudice and active discrimination." The Ojibway philosophy for living, that of keeping in balance the purity of man and nature, is revived through Broker's telling of Oona's story, the story of many as seen through the "eyes cast down" of one. An insightful story that continues the Ojibway circle and gives us all the hope of the past for the future.

I sat and read this in one sitting. It was that good. An excellent lesson in not needing all the gadgetry this world offers in order to be happy. A great reminder for all of us that we need to care for each other in order we all can survive.

In "Night Flying Woman, An Ojibway Narrative," Ignatia Broker tells the story of the forest people, the Ojibway. She shows how the white man's ways desecrated the rituals, laws and beliefs of the Native People, all but erasing their long culture. Classed as caricatures in a land that once honord them, Brokers shows how the Native People "faced bias, prejudice and active discrimination." The Ojibway philosophy for living, that of keeping in balance the purity of man and nature, is revived through Broker's telling of Oona's story, the story of many as seen through the "eyes cast down" of one. An insightful story that continues the Ojibway circle and gives us all the hope of the past for the future.

This book is worth the read. If you like Homer. You will love this book. It is like an add on to Homer. I tell everyone I meet to pick this book up.
Easy to read. A wonderful story and written with such grace.

Lesa Trapp

By all the gods on Mount Olympus, I have never seen mythology presented so clearly! A poet is dictionary-defined as: a person of imaginative power and sense of beauty; one who presents a subject in a unique way. Marc Ladewig truly has the soul of a poet. My favorite lines, (and there are many) are:
"The strands of god run deep in mortal man
and in the stars and every blade of grass."
Marc has a way of making the gods and their times come alive in a fascinating and memorable way. This epic tale itself is a work of art, the pictures make it even easier to envision the story and the afterword is a wonderful reference tool as well. With the map, the family tree and the glossary of names and places, further study is certainly made much easier. After reading this book, even those who are not poetically inclined will want to read more. I cannot recommend this book highly enough!

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R9ILUHVJXE75V Odysseus Bids Farewell to Calypso is a video with original musical introduction by the author.

I have loved the tales of Homer since a child; reading everything I could get my hands on in my school's library about the Trojan war and the wanderings of Odysseus. My life choices were influenced by my internalization of the warrior ethos found in Homer's immortal poems.

But the old stories grew stale, and I have been unable to get back into them in decades.... Till Marc Ladewig's amazing retelling of the Oddyssey!

This is indeed Homer for a new generation of modern readers. Marc writes in clear and understandable poetic-prose. He serves-up the epic myth in the style of Homer, trimmed of the "fat" that weighs pure translations down for modern readers.

I recommend this book to any reader of any age who thrills to the ancient tales or who enjoyed the film "Troy". But especially I hope this book is picked-up by educators, who will find this a fine piece of literature and a great tool for introducing young minds to the world of Homer. To the "fierce-bred" heroes of ancient Greece; to lovely nymphs and cleaver wives; and to mega-hearted Odysseus, doomed to wander the wine-dark seas before at last returning to hearth and home.

With "Odysseus, the Epic Myth of the Hero," the California poet Marc Ladewig has undertaken a noble task: a contemporary retelling of the adventures of Odysseus (aka "Ulysses"). The ancient king of Ithaca's deeds were originally described by the Greek poet Homer in the 8th century B.C. in the epic poems "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey," which respectively depict the Trojan War and Odysseus's magical and harrowing journey home. The two works are still the most famous epic dramas of Western Civilization, their mythology permanently etched into our collective culture. We know the stories from the original Homer and from adaptations (such as Wolfgang Petersen's 2004 movie "Troy"), elaborate re-workings (James Joyce's "Ulysses" and Joel and Ethan Coen's "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" are examples), references in story and song (including Cream's "Tales of Brave Ulysses"), and innumerable renderings in painting and sculpture. Who has not heard of the Cyclops, Achilles' heel, the Lotus Eaters, the Sirens, or the Trojan horse?

So, it is with a chill up the spine and a rush of nostalgia that one reads Ladewig's opening words: "Sing about that long lost man for me, dear Muse of epic song...." And we plunge into the Homeric reality of legendary warriors and fierce battles, helpful and wrathful gods, oracular and vengeful wives and mothers, seductive goddesses and terrifying creatures, and the homesick Odysseus and his ever faithful wife Penelope. In Ladewig's book, "some parts are translation, some parts are adventures upon which Homer is silent, some parts are pure invention." He is true to the spirit of the original, yet strives to fill in gaps and to interpret. Ladewig, of course, is not the only author to augment Homer's accounts: Euripides and Aeschylus wrote plays more than two thousand years ago that dealt with characters from the Trojan War. For the 21st century, it helps to have a new telling that bridges the gap between the ancient and modern worlds, and their manners of storytelling. Ladewig succeeds admirably in this. His language is fresh and modern, his poetry is vivid and sweeping, and he retains an epic tone, transporting us to faraway, mythic events that have informed our dreams and our strivings for three millennia.

Wonderful retelling of Cherokee story handed down through the oral retelling of old stories by the grandmothers of the tribe.

I am a former fifth grade instructor, a National Board Certified Teacher, and a college professor in Teacher Preparation. I highly recommend the Grandmother Stories series to elementary and early childhood instructors and parents who are homeschooling their children. The books have appropriate vocabulary and tell stories that explain nature in a creative manner. I learned several things I did not know about nature and its interactions from these books. Children love to have the books read to them and to read them to themselves. Duvall and Jacobs are a wonderful creative force as they merge their talents to produce books that will be enjoyed for generations to come.

This review appeared in Roundup Magazine, Oct. 2004. A children's picture book that recounts Cherokee historian and storyteller Duvall's latest rabbit tale. Volume 4 of the University's "Grandmother Stories," Rabbit and the Bears tells the story of Rabbit accompanying his friend, Yona the Bear, to the Mulberry Place in the Smoky Mountains where Yona participates in the bears' ceremonial dances every autumn. Rabbit sees a bear with an arrow in his shoulder running from a hunter. Yona and Rabbit follow the wounded bear to the Magic Lake, Ata-Gahi, where the injured bear is healed. Rabbit wishes to know more about bear medicine, but Yona teaches him many other things...a wonderful story suited for the very young as well as elementary school children.

The Grandmother Stories are eloquent, beautifully illustrated tales that recapture the imagination of Native America. Deborah Duvall and Murv Jacob have done a brilliant job of revisiting the mythic world of Rabbit, Bear and Otter and introducing them to a contemporary audience. These characters are timeless, as are their stories, and readers of all ages will delight in their antics and unique insights. (...)

Takes the reader into a magical world where real problems are solved in the ancient way by teaching examples of timeless characters, such as Rabbit and Bear. Based on Cherokee legend and tradition, the prose and the artwork are subtle and refined enough for adults but also intriguing to children. I'm sending all four of the books now available to all of my grandchildren, knowing that not only will the kids enjoy them but their parents as well. It's a pleasure to be able to recommend something new in the world of children's books that is so fun and worthwhile.