Gods & Giants (The Best Tales Ever Told) - Hardcover

Ross, Stewart; Phillipps, Francis

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0761307060 ISBN 13: 9780761307068

Publisher: Copper Beech Books, 1806

Synopsis

Presents tales from northern Europe, and offers facts about medieval life and culture

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Gr 3-4--This attempt to retell myths, legends, and literary tales of the Middle Ages in double-page spreads falls flat. The 15 stories include the tales of Merlin, Cuchulain, Thor, Beowulf, Babushka, Romeo and Juliet, and Don Quixote. Though the stories ring true to their origins in content, the writing is so diluted that nothing literary remains. Some of the selections cannot be told in two pages, and the result is occasionally misleading. There is help for pronunciation, but it is spotty ("Beowulf" but not "Saracen"). The dialogue has been modernized, and it does not always work. Joan of Arc sees a vision who says, "God's chosen you to save France! Good Luck!" Line drawings accompany the factoid asides, and vibrantly mediocre watercolors illustrate the main stories. Let youngsters grow up and read the real thing, or at least a more careful retelling.

Angela J. Reynolds, West Slope Community Library, Portland, OR

Copyright 1998 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Copper Beech Books
• Publication date: 1806
• ISBN 10: 0761307060
• ISBN 13: 9780761307068
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Phillipps Francis