Myth- Aliki, The Gods And Goddesses Of Olympics

Myth- Aliki, The Gods and Goddesses of Olympics

History 106-05 Nov. 27, 1996 Eng. 265-01 Oct. 1, 1996 Prof Janice Antczak

Myth- Aliki , The Gods and Goddesses of Olympics , Harper Collins Publishers ,

1994 .

After reading The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus , my first reaction was that it was a wonderful and fascinating example of how Greek mythology explains the theories about life , death , and the wonders of nature . Although I enjoyed the book , I also wondered if it was a little too confusing to a young child , since many long Greek names were used and many characters interacting together became too complicated and involved.

The story began with the creation of the earth , sky, all living things, and with the birth of the Gods and Goddesses that reigned on Mount Olympus . The author also took each of the twelve gods and goddesses and individually summarized their personality and duties and their purpose and connection to the world . The author who also illustrated the book , used brilliant and vibrant colors and also portrayed the personality visually by scenes and images that clearly showed the emotional side of the gods .

This myth contained some violence , sinister and inappropriate behavior among the gods and cruel and even frightening illustrations that I thought might be too overwhelming for a young impressionable mind . An example of this would be when " Cronus married his sister Rhea , and they had many children . But

Cronus was afraid that one of them might overthrow him just as he had overthrown his father . So as each child was born , he swallowed it ." Although Cronus eventually "throws up" the unharmed children in the end, I feel the initial reaction might be more lasting , as well as the fact that Cronus married his sister , which is an unacceptable taboo in society . There were other strong images conveyed , both verbally and visually dealing with death , jealousy , deceit , and deformities of man and beast . Although I enjoyed this book , I felt it should be read to an older audience that will not be negatively impressed by some parts of the story .

Tall Tale : Kellog Steven , Sally Ann Thunder , Ann Whirlwind Crockett , Morrow

Junior Books , 1995

In this tale , author Steven Kellog depicts the incredible story of a girl named Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind who has an amazing amount of strength, vitality and agility and who sets off for the frontier at age eight .