“Mythology” becomes “Mirthology” in this hilariously revisionist account of the war between the Greek gods and the Titans. Outraged by the version of events promulgated by his boastful little brother Zeus in The Big Fat Book of Greek Myths, Hades enlists a (what else?) ghost writer to help set the record straight. True, Sky Daddy Cronus did eat his children Hades, Hera, Demeter, and Poseidon, but it was their mother Rhea, not Zeus, who supplied the herbs that made Cronus finally barf them up. Similarly, when the gods needed help against Team Titan in the Olympic Games’ climactic kickstone match, it was Hades who not only sprung allies from an underworld jail, but saved the day again when mighty Typhon attacked. And how did Zeus repay the debt? By cheating Hades out of Rulership of the Universe in a crooked poker game. Is it any wonder that Hades took a gig in the Underworld—“It’s my job to make sure that the ghosts of those who were good in life get to go to an eternal rock concert. . . . The ghosts of the not so good? They have to wander around, trying to memorize an endless list of really hard spelling words. And the ghosts of the wicked? You don’t want to know”—to escape all of his squabbling sibs? The disgruntled deity promises more exposés (“ ‘I think I’ll call it Phone Home, Persephone!’ ”) to come. The sooner the better. (Fiction. 10-13)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-7868-0857-8
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2002
A world-class charmer, Clements (The Janitor’s Boy, 2000, etc.) woos aspiring young authors—as well as grown up publishers, editors, agents, parents, teachers, and even reviewers—with this tongue-in-cheek tale of a 12-year-old novelist’s triumphant debut. Sparked by a chance comment of her mother’s, a harried assistant editor for a (surely fictional) children’s imprint, Natalie draws on deep reserves of feeling and writing talent to create a moving story about a troubled schoolgirl and her father. First, it moves her pushy friend Zoe, who decides that it has to be published; then it moves a timorous, second-year English teacher into helping Zoe set up a virtual literary agency; then, submitted pseudonymously, it moves Natalie’s unsuspecting mother into peddling it to her waspish editor-in-chief. Depicting the world of children’s publishing as a delicious mix of idealism and office politics, Clements squires the manuscript past slush pile and contract, the editing process, and initial buzz (“The Cheater grabs hold of your heart and never lets go,” gushes Kirkus). Finally, in a tearful, joyous scene—carefully staged by Zoe, who turns out to be perfect agent material: cunning, loyal, devious, manipulative, utterly shameless—at the publication party, Natalie’s identity is revealed as news cameras roll. Selznick’s gnomic, realistic portraits at once reflect the tale’s droll undertone and deftly capture each character’s distinct personality. Terrific for flourishing school writing projects, this is practical as well as poignant. Indeed, it “grabs hold of yourheart and never lets go.” (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: June 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-82594-3
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2001
“Hear, and listen well, my friends, and I will tell you a tale that has been told for a thousand years and more.” It’s not exactly a rarely told tale, either, though this complete rendition is distinguished by both handsome packaging and a prose narrative that artfully mixes alliterative language reminiscent of the original, with currently topical references to, for instance, Grendel’s “endless terror raids,” and the “holocaust at Heorot.” Along with being printed on heavy stock and surrounded by braided borders, the text is paired to colorful scenes featuring a small human warrior squaring off with a succession of grimacing but not very frightening monsters in battles marked by but a few discreet splashes of blood. Morpurgo puts his finger on the story’s enduring appeal—“we still fear the evil that stalks out there in the darkness . . . ”—but offers a version unlikely to trouble the sleep of more sensitive readers or listeners. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-7636-3206-6
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2006
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