Greek Mythology… with children
(Weekly Low Down on Kids Books)
Unfortunately this awesome image is not from a book. I think it’s from a video game.
The kiddo and I have been reading Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. Is she a little young to catch everything, of course, she’s not yet three. Is she following the story? Better than you might imagine. I highly recommend that parents read kids stories that are far outside the child’s reading level. By doing this they are exposed to mature language styles sooner, learn new vocabulary words, and in the case of Rick Riordan, appreciate Disney movies like Hercules that much more.
We’re not finished reading Percy Jackson, so this review isn’t about that. This review is about picture books we’ve been reading during the day in preparation for our before bed time romps with Riordan’s Olympians.
Title: Gods and Goddesses from Greek Myths
Publisher: McGraw Hill Childrens/ Peter Bendrick Books/ Octopus Publishing Group
Retold by: Pat Rosner
Illustrated by: Olwyn Whelan
ISBN: 1-57768-508-3
Typically I provide links and images to the book, where you can find and purchase it, etc. But it seems that Gods and Goddesses lives an off the grid book life. It seems to be extremely difficult to find online and I was in the middle of typing here that I could not find it when I got the idea to check hpbmarketplace.com. I purchased it from a Half Price Books a few years ago, but sure enough the marketplace wins again! As you browse through the prices, you’ll see some are quite expensive. I only paid about $5 for this at the store, I wonder if it is currently out of print. Mine is in mint condition.
The illustrations are delightful, the retold myths thorough but easy to grasp. It’s not kiddo’s favorite book, but I can tell it has helped her grasp what is happening in the Percy Jackson books. Sometimes she just flips through the Greek style pictures while listening to me read Riordan’s work.
If I were in McKinney, TX right now I’d purchase the Fantastic Creatures from Greek Mythology as well, because I like these so much and I think Olwyn Whelan is a genius illustrator. Everything she touches, I think, would be great homeschooling resources.
Other resources we enjoy:
An Open Letter to Dallas Baptist University
Unfortunately the tell-tale signs of such practices began long before this five year window the author speaks of. This was MY university and I am still paying dearly for the mistake of having attended there instead of an affordable state school.
Pioneers in 2013 – does such a thing exist? Yes!
This is exciting!
Welcome to Pecan Tree Publishing. We are a small, independent publishing house that specializes in authentic, original Southern Stories by Southern Writers.
Because we are focused on quality of content, rather than quantity, our family of Southern authors are hand-picked.
We are delighted to have Southern Writer, Melinda McGuire, as part of our Pecan Tree Publishing family.
Her two novels – Josephine: Red Dirt and Whiskey and Nelson and Cora – The Beginning are currently being re-releasd by Pecan Tree Publishing with new covers and some extras added that will be particularly delightful for her dedicated readers!
Ms. McGuire’s next novel in the Nelson and Cora series, The Journey, will be available in the fall.
We are thrilled to have Southern Mystery Writer, M. A. Ross, added to our writer family at Pecan Street Publishing. M. A. Ross’s debut novel “The Murder at Maginny’s” is set for release in the…
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The Labrador Wild
Title: Letters to the Granddaughter
Author: Philip Schubert
Length: 198 pages
Travel books that focus on the adventure aspect of the traveling really excite me. I loved Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods, enjoy anything on nature, and was really excited to get a copy of Schubert’s own adventures in my hands.
Schubert took on the hefty project of retracing the steps of Dillon Wallace, a man who took the risks of nature by storm and conquered the edge of death several times. Reading about Wallace and Mina Hubbard, and all the others of the major voyages through the Labrador in the early 1900’s shocked me – how had I never heard of this man before? How was he not mentioned along with other well known explorers like Lewis and Clark?
Schubert’s book is truly incredible, as I suspected it would be. Since its arrival at my home, it has been sitting on the shelf taunting me as I completed other reading assignments and projects that were first in line. My fingers itched to open its pages and my eyes longed to feast on all the many maps and photography both antique and recent.
Despite said maps and imagery, I still had a difficult time picturing just where in the world the Labrador lie. Clearly my geography education is lacking.
Whether or not you enjoy the great outdoors and the sheer adventure of hiking and canoeing, the extensive research and travel done to put this book together is impressive. Whether or not you plan to sit and peruse each and every detail and hunt down Wallace’s original work upon acquiring a copy of Schubert’s book, this title makes for an excellent coffee table book. Already, guests haven’t been able to help but pick it up and thumb through it when coming to my home. The maps, the pictures, seeing the difference between a pair of trees in 1903 versus 2012… it’s all so riveting.
Having read the book, I have no intense desire to trek the route myself (and get killed), but I’d love to find a way to visit the plaque where Mina Hubbard’s husband died. Another especially intriguing location from the pictures is the Three Gorges, on page 117 of the book there’s a stunning photograph of quite an impressive view. I’d love to stand there myself.
To readers who plan trips to famous writers’ houses, don’t miss out on Dillon’s former house in Beacon, New York. It’s gorgeous. I want it.
To Boy Scouts (my husband is an Eagle), this is a must read. After his days of trekking through the Labrador and documenting his time there, Dillon Wallace “established the Boy Scout movement in Dutchess County and was himself scoutmaster of Troop 1 in Beacon.” (pg.185) His books were later included in the Every Boy’s Library Series.
I’m still on the lookout for copies of the original works by these amazing people, there are plenty online but despite supporting online purchases through Good Books in the Woods, HPBmarketplace.com, and lastly Amazon.com, even Abebooks every now and then… I rarely order online myself. I prefer to find that perfect copy calling my name in the brick and mortar store. When Dillon Wallace and Mina Hubbard’s books finally do call my name, I will excitedly scoop them up because I’ll be adding them and Schubert’s own research to the kiddo’s classical education reading list.
Visit the Author’s website.
The Pakistan that I Want
Dr. Boone/ Plato… I know that guy, he’s an old school bud! Honored to have such honored friends.
Anakalian Whims 