adapted by Geraldine McCaughrean & illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2001
In this companion to Greek Myths (1993), McCaughrean and Clark present 15 tales, some expropriated from the ancient Greeks, others, such as the origin of the Lares, and the rivalry of Romulus and Remus, distinctively Roman. With her usual flair, McCaughrean writes of happy, doomed—or, in the case of Diana and Endymion, eerily dysfunctional—romances between gods and mortals. She relates the gruesome story of heedless woodcutter Erisychthon, cursed by Ceres with such an insatiable appetite that he ends up eating himself, and brings high drama to the devastating confrontation between arrogant King Tarquin and the Cumaean Sibyl. Sex and violence are toned down not only in the retellings (e.g., “The Theft of the Sabine Women”) but also the illustrations, for which Clark draws inspiration from sources as diverse as ancient mosaics and Botticelli’s Birth of Venus to depict a set of distinctly un-Olympian immortals. A cast list of those immortals, and notes on the stories’ origins, close this eye-opening introduction to a mythology less politicized and derivative than generally billed. (introduction, notes) (Mythology. 9-13)
Pub Date: June 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83822-0
Page Count: 96
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2001
Share your opinion of this book
More by Geraldine McCaughrean
BOOK REVIEW
by Geraldine McCaughrean ; illustrated by Peter Malone
BOOK REVIEW
by Julia Alvarez ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2001
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay.
Renowned Latin American writer Alvarez has created another story about cultural identity, but this time the primary character is 11-year-old Miguel Guzmán.
When Tía Lola arrives to help the family, Miguel and his hermana, Juanita, have just moved from New York City to Vermont with their recently divorced mother. The last thing Miguel wants, as he's trying to fit into a predominantly white community, is a flamboyant aunt who doesn't speak a word of English. Tía Lola, however, knows a language that defies words; she quickly charms and befriends all the neighbors. She can also cook exotic food, dance (anywhere, anytime), plan fun parties, and tell enchanting stories. Eventually, Tía Lola and the children swap English and Spanish ejercicios, but the true lesson is "mutual understanding." Peppered with Spanish words and phrases, Alvarez makes the reader as much a part of the "language" lessons as the characters. This story seamlessly weaves two culturaswhile letting each remain intact, just as Miguel is learning to do with his own life. Like all good stories, this one incorporates a lesson just subtle enough that readers will forget they're being taught, but in the end will understand themselves, and others, a little better, regardless of la lengua nativa—the mother tongue.
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-375-80215-0
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
Share your opinion of this book
More by Julia Alvarez
BOOK REVIEW
by Julia Alvarez ; illustrated by Raúl Colón
BOOK REVIEW
by Julia Alvarez ; illustrated by Sabra Field
BOOK REVIEW
by Richard Peck ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2000
Year-round fun.
Set in 1937 during the so-called “Roosevelt recession,” tight times compel Mary Alice, a Chicago girl, to move in with her grandmother, who lives in a tiny Illinois town so behind the times that it doesn’t “even have a picture show.”
This winning sequel takes place several years after A Long Way From Chicago (1998) leaves off, once again introducing the reader to Mary Alice, now 15, and her Grandma Dowdel, an indomitable, idiosyncratic woman who despite her hard-as-nails exterior is able to see her granddaughter with “eyes in the back of her heart.” Peck’s slice-of-life novel doesn’t have much in the way of a sustained plot; it could almost be a series of short stories strung together, but the narrative never flags, and the book, populated with distinctive, soulful characters who run the gamut from crazy to conventional, holds the reader’s interest throughout. And the vignettes, some involving a persnickety Grandma acting nasty while accomplishing a kindness, others in which she deflates an overblown ego or deals with a petty rivalry, are original and wildly funny. The arena may be a small hick town, but the battle for domination over that tiny turf is fierce, and Grandma Dowdel is a canny player for whom losing isn’t an option. The first-person narration is infused with rich, colorful language—“She was skinnier than a toothpick with termites”—and Mary Alice’s shrewd, prickly observations: “Anybody who thinks small towns are friendlier than big cities lives in a big city.”
Year-round fun. (Fiction. 11-13)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2000
ISBN: 978-0-8037-2518-8
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2000
Share your opinion of this book
More In The Series
More by Richard Peck
BOOK REVIEW
by Richard Peck
BOOK REVIEW
by Richard Peck ; illustrated by Kelly Murphy
BOOK REVIEW
by Richard Peck illustrated by Kelly Murphy
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.