"GREEK MYTHS, WESTERN STYLE: Toga Tales with an Attitude"

by Barbara--Adapt. McBride-Smith ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1998

McBride-Smith retells 14 familiar Greek myths in the voice of a Texas storyteller. Creation, the kidnapping of Persephone, several scenes from Homer, and the flight of Icarus are included. Some tales involve novel interpretations: The Argonauts are an ""uncouth bunch of jocks,"" ""worthless yahoos,"" and ""hooligans,"" while Medea ""had a nervous breakdown. And it was the no-good Jason who drove her to it."" The quality of the stories ranges from the serious and well-told ""Baucis and Philemon"" to almost everything else; the attempts to be funny and folksy make for painful reading. Despite frequent uses of words (""turd,"" ""snot,"" etc.) meant to appeal to children's subversive impulses, most of the humor is strictly adult: jokes about the IRS, New Agers, E. coil, trickle-down economics, etc.

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1998

ISBN: 0874835240

Page Count: 121

Publisher: August House

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1998

Categories: CHILDREN'S