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The Gods and Goddesses of Olympics

After reading The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus , my first reaction was that it was a wonderful and fascinating example of how Greek mythology explains the theories about life , death , and the wonders of nature . Although I enjoyed the book , I also wondered if it was a little too confusing to a young child , since many long Greek names were used and many characters interacting together became too complicated and involved. The story began with the creation of the earth , sky, all living things, and with the birth of the Gods and Goddesses that reigned on Mount Olympus .

The author also took each of the twelve gods and goddesses and individually summarized their personality and duties and their purpose and connection to the world . The author who also illustrated the book , used brilliant and vibrant colors and also portrayed the personality visually by scenes and images that clearly showed the emotional side of the gods . This myth contained some violence , sinister and inappropriate behavior among the gods and cruel and even frightening illustrations that I thought might be too overwhelming for a young impressionable mind .

An example of this would be when ” Cronus married his sister Rhea , and they had many children. But Cronus was afraid that one of them might overthrow him just as he had overthrown his father . So as each child was born , he swallowed it . ” Although Cronus eventually “throws up” the unharmed children in the end, I feel the initial reaction might be more lasting , as well as the fact that Cronus married his sister , which is an unacceptable taboo in society . There were other strong images conveyed , both verbally and visually dealing with death , jealousy , deceit , and deformities of man and beast .

Although I enjoyed this book , I felt it should be read to an older audience that will not be negatively impressed by some parts of the story . Tall Tale : Kellog Steven , Sally Ann Thunder , Ann Whirlwind Crockett , Morrow Junior Books , 1995 In this tale , author Steven Kellog depicts the incredible story of a girl named Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind who has an amazing amount of strength, vitality and agility and who sets off for the frontier at age eight . She lived with the animals and loved her life in the wilderness until one day she meets a stranger in the woods that needs her help .

It is Davy Crockett , the most famous woodsman in America . They fall in love and marry, but the amazing feats of strength and courage fill her daily life and continue to surprise the town folk in this nineteenth century tale . My first reaction to this tall tale was that it was funny , light , and had a lot of vitality . The plot was simple for children to follow and had only one main character , which would let the children focus on the cumulative events that happened to this character and how the story leads to its climax.

I definitely got the feeling that I was looking at a nineteenth century story by the authors illustration and colors used. Earth tones of brown, yellow , green and blue set the stage for an early American atmosphere . This tale , portrayed in a humorous way , showed how the rugged heroines of long ago dealt with the hardships and dangers of frontier life . I feel young children will like this book and enjoy its funny and whimsical dialogue and illustrations , and perhaps get a comical glimpse of life on the frontier of long ago.

Folktale : Aardema Verna . Why Mosquitoes Buzz in peoples Ears , Illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon , Dial Press , 1975 . I found this African folktale to be a delightfully imaginative and entertaining tale that has a simple lesson that young children would be able to understand and relate to . The tale begins with a mosquito that tells a tall tale (lie) to an iguana . This sets off a chain reaction that ends in a terrible disaster involving the death of a baby owl , and a mother owl that reacts to this disaster by refusing to hoot and wake the sun the next morning .

As the talking jungle animals tried to pinpoint who was the cause of this terrible accident , a sequence of events recounts back to the origin and eventually the mosquito is incriminated. This is a cumulative tale which used repetition , accumulation and rhythm to make a interesting and appealing story for young children . This folk tale teaches the most basic lesson that you should never lie or there will be serious consequences as a result . In the end, the mosquito would not admit to his lies and therefore as a result he had a guilty conscience thereafter .

In the last paragraph the author ties the entire story together by saying that because the mosquito has a guilty conscience he always goes around whining in peoples ears asking ” zeee ! Is everyone still angry at me ? “, and that is the reason “why mosquitoes buzz in peoples ears “. The illustrations were colorful, bold and gave the reader the feeling and flavor of an African jungle . The only part I thought was sad was when the baby owl died , and I thought it brought a solemn note to an otherwise entertaining and creative folktale .

The author also uses certain words three times whenever describing the sounds of the animals or an important emotion to be emphasized . An example of this is when the monkey “flew into the forest crying “kaa, kaa ,kaa ! ” When expressing the sadness of the mother owl the author repeated the words “so sad , so sad, so sad ! “I felt this book would be enjoyed by a young audience and would teach a valuable lesson about the importance of truth as well as being a fun and entertaining edition to a school or home library . Fable :Jones , Carol.

Town Mouse Country Mouse , Houghton Mifflin Co. , 1995 The Town Mouse Country Mouse was a an adorable fable that I felt was excellent for young children . The basic and simple story begins with two cousins , Town Mouse and Country Mouse who decide to visit one anothers homes . Town Mouse has unrealistic expectations about life in the country , and soon he is out of place in an environment filled with unusual sights, sounds , and dangers . He begins to long for his familiar world in town and heads back home along with his country cousin who longs for a glimpse at city life .

Country Mouse discovers also that he is happier in his own familiar world and both realize that theres no place like home . This story would be very easily understood and enjoyed by small children . The two main characters have a simple plot and dialogue however , it is very descriptive which gave me the feeling of being there and going through each encounter that the mice did. The timeless fable also teaches a very moralistic lesson of how people can falsely believe the grass is always greener on the other side .

The author , who also illustrated the book , created cut out peep holes through the pages in order to see future happenings which added a different dimension and creativity to the book . I thought the illustrations were cozy and charming and certainly gave the reader the feeling of being in the country and the city . The Town Mouse Country Mouse had a touch of humor and warmth that would delight any age group and both children and adults can relate to its wise message and moralistic lesson for generations to come .

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