A Wonder Book: Heroes and Monsters of Greek Mythology

by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Book Overview

This book, from one of American literature's greatest authors, Nathaniel Hawthorne, offers a selection of Greek myths, retold to make them more accessible for children. It includes the Gorgon's Head,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486432092
• ISBN13: 9780486432090
• Release Date: December 2003
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 157 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.3" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 8 to 14 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 9

Customer Reviews

Must-Have for Children's Library

I ordered this book as part of a third grade curriculum for my son. These Everyman titles are really wonderful-- beautiful binding, heavy pages, amazing illustrations. I was not disappointed with this book. It is the kind of book we will read again and again and hopefully pass on to the next generation. Hawthorne's rendition of the myths and fables is classic and engaging, and Rackham's illustrations are worth the price on their own.

A Wonder Book National Hawthorne

In the 1960's, Grosset and Dunlap of New York came out with a Companion Library Series of Books. These sweet hardbacks, designed for Children, came in matching covers, bound in a way that they were beautiful on a bookshelf. If you buy this book, you may be very inclined to begin to collect the rest of the series which included: The Adventures of Pinocchio, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Aesops' Fables, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Andersen's Fairy Tales, Arabian Nights, Black Beauty, The Call of the Wild, A Dog of Flanders and Other Stories, Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, Grimms Fairy Tales, Gulliver's Travels, Hans Brinker, Heidi, The Jungle Book, Just So Stories, Kidnapped, The Little Lame Prince, Little Men, Little Women, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, The Prince and The Pauper, Robinson Crusoe, The Story of King Arthur and His Knights, The Swiss Family Robinson, Tom Sawyer Abroad, Tom Sawyer Detective, Treasure Island, and finally, The Wizard of Oz. 30 in all. This book itself contains the following myths and legends: The Gorgon's Head The Golden Touch The Paradise of Children The Three Golden Apples The Miraculous Pitcher The Chimaera

A Vibrant Treasure

This affordably priced quality paperback edition of familiar tales from Greek mythology is truly a treasure and a wonderful way to enjoy these timeless stories or to introduce them to young people. One of America's greatest writers, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote these versions of stories about Pandora, Medusa, Hercules, King Midas and the host of gods and goddesses that make up the Greek pantheon. The language is evocative and colorful yet easily understandable. You needn't worry if your high school teacher's assigned reading of "The Scarlet Letter" bored you to tears, as this collection of stories is filled with exciting adventures and vivid characters. I love the beautiful illustrations in this book. They were done by Walter Crane, one of the most popular illustrators of children's books in the late 19th century. The paintings are in the Pre-Raphaelite style in full color. The decorations at the beginning of each chapter are filled with Victorian charm and make this new editon seem like a well-loved antique. There are many excellent anthologies of the Greek myths on the market but rarely will you find one that utilizes such substantial talents as those employed by Hawthorne and Crane or that so thoroughly draw the reader in to the romantic and turbulent world of heroes, maidens and the capricious deities who stir their fates. I highly recommend this book. It is a classic that will enrich the mind and heart of a young reader and open the way for further discovery.

A little-known gem of thrills for all ages

One day last week, I could not, even after hours of deliberation (the snow had made engagements scarce), decide what book to read next. I finally came upon this little volume on the end of my parent's bookshelf and decided to give it try. How could I have known what charms were in store? I felt like a little girl again, and as Eustace Bright, the ambitious college student who narrates these tales, held his little auditors in awe, my eyes, too, were wide with wonder. It truly is a "wonder book," full of high fantasy, thrilling action, and the inimitable imagery of a master. Though geared towards "boys and girls," Hawthorne explains in his introduction that "children possess an unestimated sensibility to whatever is deep or high, in imagination or feeling, so long as it is simple . . . It is only the artificial and complex that bewilder them." Indeed; the book hardly condescends, and so will gently stretch the middle-grader's vocabulary. But readers -- or listeners -- of all ages will delight in this collection of tales, for I was equally, if not more, entertained by the introductories and postludes to each story, which relate the antics and dialogue of Eustace and the little children he entertains. These interludes also expand the stories by slipping in commentary and interpretation.Don't pass this one by; it will truly win your heart, whoever you may be!

A Beautiful Book!

This is a remarkable book, with rich detail in both illustration and prose. Particularly wonderful for reading aloud together, my sons enjoyed this book through several years, and asked for the stories often.