THE HEAVENLY ZOO: Legends and Tales of the Stars

by Alison--Adapt. Lurie ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 25, 1980

These 16 stories about the origins of particular constellations are altogether unlike the spirited folk tales in Clever Gretchen (p. 141, J-113). These are told in a stately manner, with an occasional Biblical echo--but not a trace of the stilted sonority that often results from such attempts. Beisner's boxed-in compositions in sparkling colors--with the beast of each story represented both zodiac-like in the sky and on the earth below--have an appropriate formal quality, modified by a touch of quaintness. Lurie draws her stories from ancient Greece (half of the total), the Old Testament (four selections), India, Malaysia, Babylon, and native America. Even though Heracles figures in two, she doesn't make the usual hero tales or dramatic adventures of any; nor does she compare or discourse on the stories as did Gallant in The Constellations (p. 137, J-45). Instead, there is a pleasing, jewel-like character to both the stories and the package.

Pub Date: April 25, 1980

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1980

Categories: NONFICTION