The McElderry Book of Greek Myths by Eric Kimmel
This slim anthology is sort of an introduction to mythology. I grabbed it for its beautiful illustrations and because I generally like Eric Kimmel as an author.
Greek myths, like folk tales and fairy tales, were passed down over time and many versions exist. Kimmel does not always pick the version that I was most familiar with (he also doesn’t cite his sources which may anger some myth purists), but he does often try to pick the most child friendly. Whether he’s working from slightly gentler source texts or putting his own milder spin on the tales, I cannot say, but it certainly is helpful if you’re trying to introduce mythology to the younger children.
Although each of the stories can stand alone (which will definitely let you skip any that you find too gruesome or too far from your favored version), the arrangement of the stories in the anthology follows a reasonable progression whenever possible, with the story of Prometheus flowing into Pandora linked by the common thread of Prometheus’s brother, Epimetheus who married Pandora. Hades and Persephone are introduced first and later revisited in the story of Orpheus and Euridyce. The stories range from rather gentle (King Midas, Arachne) to the dark and violent (Opheus and Euridyce, Jason and the Golden Fleece).
Great for: Pick and choose stories to read aloud to the non-reading set! Many will be fascinated by the stories and the pictures are fabulous. Bright and eye-catching Monserrat’s illustrations capture the feel of Ancient Greek design without feeling old-fashioned. The vocabulary is not overwhelming aside from the Greek names, so third grade and up should probably be able to manage it independently. If you are reading aloud, here’s a pronunciation guide with many (but alas, not all) of the names to help you keep your tongue from tripping.
Sex, Nudity, Dating – Humans are naked in the beginning. Various characters love each other and of course there are marriages.
Profanity – None.
Death, Violence and Gore – The Earth is created from dead parts of Titans. Prometheus has a vulture tear away at his flesh for eternity. Pandora is injured by items inside the box. Characters die and some are turned into animals. The story of Orpheus and Euridyce is one of the darkest included. Euridyce dies of a snake bite. Orpheus attempts to rescue her from the land of the dead, but is not successful. Maidens try to kill him and when they do not, they tear at their hair and scratch themselves bloody. When they do kill him, they tear his body to pieces. Jason myth is also quite violent, Medea stabs his father and boils him in a cauldron to make him young. Then she has some young girls try this on their own father, but he is not made young and they are left stirring his body in a cauldron for eternity. A Minotaur feasts on human flesh. Brief mention of the possibility of sacrificing children to the Minotaur. Theseus feels the Minotaur’s blood wash over him, then he decapitates it. A father commits suicide (well he throws himself off a cliff, they don’t say commits suicide) when he believes his son is dead. Medusa is also beheaded.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – Midas tries to drink wine. Dionysus appears in some stories.
Frightening or Intense Things – Medea dabbles in witchcraft. You can’t have Greek Myths without some fearsome beasts. The Minotaur and Medusa are the scariest in here.
