D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths

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You won't regret it and you might want to continue to want to read more and more about Greek mythology. Greek mythology can be a very complex subject, but this book does a fabulous job of making the myths accessible and enjoyable. Whether you visit the wold of Greek mythology through auditory means or a visual guide, D'Aulaire's is the divine choice. The drawings, particularly the full-page ones in this oversized volume, are excellent and excitingly evocative. We encourage them to think for themselves, to question, to seek, to demand that authority earns respect, so their experience with the book isn't as revelatory as mine.

Even now as an adult when I read it, I am impressed by all the words and terms that Greek folklore has bequeathed to the English language and no doubt its sister tongues ("panic" from the satyr demigod Pan, "echo" from the nymph of the same name cursed to forever repeat the words of others, "narcissism" from the youth Narcissus who pined away from desiring his own reflection in the water, etc). I have recently been reading George O'Conner's books of mythology and he had pieces of stories I have never heard before. Here are the greats of ancient Greece—gods and goddesses, heroes and monsters—as freshly described in words and pictures as if they were alive today. Still, they love this book, and I hope they share it with their kids (if they choose to have kids) in turn.

In print for over fifty years, D’Aulaires Book of Greek Myths has introduced generations to Greek mythology—and continues to enthrall young readers. The d'Aulaires and Abraham Lincoln won the Caldecott Medal from the American Library Association in 1940, recognizing the previous year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". The artwork is incredibly detailed and beautiful, and the written portrayal of the various gods and goddesses, heroes and monsters is highly sympathetic toward and attentive to the strengths and failings of human beings, of both virtue and weakness (strengths and failings which the Greek deities were believed to share themselves, in no small measure). Kids can lose themselves in a world of myth and magic while learning important cultural history in this beloved classic collection of Greek mythology. For example, in the story of the overthrow of Uranus, mention is made of the fateful sickle, and of Cronos's attack upon his father, but the exact nature of the attack is unspecified.

I think that this approach works fairly well, in that it maintains the integrity of the myth, while making it more appropriate for the younger child at whom this book is aimed. Awarded the 1940 Caldecott Medal for their picture-book biography of Abraham Lincoln, the d'Aulaires published other children's biographies, as well as some notable works on Greek and Norse mythology. Ingri d'Aulaire (1904-1980) was an American children's artist and illustrator, who worked in collaboration with her husband and fellow artist, Edgar Parin d'Aulaire. One can see how a child would want to read this over and over, but it's a great read for adults, too.Later their attention shifted to their adopted country and they produced books about American heroes such as Pocahontas, Benjamin Franklin, and Buffalo Bill.