Myths and legends communicate key values and beliefs within a society, though the stories may share many similarities across time and culture.
In this brief compendium, Nardo examines common themes across mythologies pulled from around the globe. The famous mythologist Joseph Campbell and contemporary expert E.J. Michael Witzel claim that myths the world over share common themes, values, and tropes because of a shared heritage of storytelling that dates back to the earliest humans. These tales often involve powerful and wise creator deities as well as heroic humans, and each communicates something of the values and traditions of each culture to the listener or reader. This title serves as a cursory primer of several major mythical traditions from around the world. Through each retelling and subsequent background exposition, readers discover particulars about the cultures from which each myth sprang but also their many similarities. Classical historian Nardo begins with the Greco-Roman and Norse mythological traditions that Western readers are most likely already familiar with before expanding to Hindu, Chinese, Aztec, and Igbo mythical traditions. Though a great primer for reluctant readers and those looking for a brief overview and laudable for its inclusion of non-Western traditions, readers hoping for a deeper dive will need to look elsewhere. Ample illustrations add interest and support the text.
An amuse-bouche of world mythology that may leave readers craving more. (source notes, further reading, index, picture credits) (Nonfiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-6782-0082-4
Page Count: 64
Publisher: ReferencePoint Press
Review Posted Online: June 11, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2021
Categories: TEENS & YOUNG ADULT RELIGION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT NONFICTION
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
One of the world’s most celebrated creators of civic architecture is profiled in this accessible, engaging biography.
Similar in style and format to her Everybody Paints!: The Lives and Art of the Wyeth Family (2014) and Wideness and Wonder: The Life and Art of Georgia O’Keeffe (2011), Rubin’s well-researched profile examines the career, creative processes, and career milestones of Maya Lin. Rubin discusses at length Lin’s most famous achievement, designing the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Chinese-American Lin was a reserved college student who entered and won the competition to design and build the memorial. Her youth and ethnicity were subjects of great controversy, and Rubin discusses how Lin fought to ensure her vision of the memorial remained intact. Other notable works by Lin, including the Civil Rights Memorial for the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama, a library and chapel for the Children’s Defense Fund, the Museum of Chinese in America, and the outdoor Wave Field project are examined but not in as much depth as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Attractively designed, the book is illustrated extensively with color photos and drawings.
An engaging, admiring, and insightful portrait of an uncompromising, civic-minded, visionary artist. (bibliography, source notes, index) (Biography. 12-15)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4521-0837-7
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 21, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
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The word “Orwellian” is oddly absent in this chilling look at how we now live in a world of near-constant surveillance and data collection.
Kyi examines how information and data about almost everyone are collected and used by individuals, government agencies, companies, and other organizations. She poses three questions to readers: who’s watching, and why? Where is the line between public and private? How can you keep your secrets to yourself? These questions are addressed in chapters exploring such subjects as computer surveillance, cyberbullying, data mining, and personal privacy. There is discussion of such surveillance technologies as drones, GPS, and RFID tags. Although there is little here that does not seem creepy, “Creepy Line” sidebars in each chapter highlight controversial real-life scenarios and ask readers where they would set their own boundaries. That label refers to a statement from former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who said the company’s policy was “to get right up to the creepy line and not cross it.” There are also ongoing arguments posed for both increased security and increased privacy, encouraging readers to think critically about the issues.
Though there are plenty of issues worthy of attention not addressed here, this lively effort serves well as a revealing, thoughtful, and provocative introduction to a complex subject and alarming realities. (further reading, source notes, index) (Nonfiction. 12-16)Pub Date: March 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-55451-911-8
Page Count: 140
Publisher: Annick Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2017
Categories: TEENS & YOUNG ADULT NONFICTION
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