MYTHS - Auburn University

1 MYTHS The following list accompanies the stories from the MYTHS chapter to be found in the Allyn & Bacon Anthology of Traditional Literature edited by Judith V. Lechner, Allyn & Bacon, 2003. Isis and Osiris A picture book for older children that captures the art style of ancient Egypt is: McDermott, Gerald. The Voyage of Osiris : A Myth of Ancient Egypt. Windmill Books, 1977. Ganesha, the Elephant Headed God Two enjoyable collections of Indian MYTHS and legends which include variants of the story of The Elephant Headed God are: Chatterjee, Debjani. The Elephant -Headed God and Other Hindu Tales. illustrated by Margaret Jones. Oxford University Press, 1992. Jaffrey, Madhur. Seasons of Splendour: Tales, MYTHS & Legends of India, illustrated by Michael Foreman. Atheneum1985. Minerva (Athena) A good summary of the gods and their attributes for children are the following: Aliki. The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus. HarperCollins, 1994. Appropriate for younger children grades three through six.

2 D Aulaire, Ingri and Edgar Parin D Aulaire. D Aulaires Book of greek MYTHS . Doubleday, 1962. Appropriate for younger children in grades three through six. Fisher, Leonard Everett, The Olympians: Great Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Greece. Holiday, 1984. This is for children in upper elementary and middle school grades. Thrym Steals Mjollnir Collections of Norse MYTHS for children usually include this story. Some of these collections are: Crossley-Holland, Kevin. Axe-age, Wolf-age : A Selection From the Norse MYTHS . illustrated by Hannah Firmin. Deutsch, 1985. d Aulaire, Ingri, and Edgar Parin d Aulaire. Norse Gods and Giants. Doubleday, 1967. Osborne, Mary Pope. favorite Norse MYTHS . illustrated by Troy Howell, Scholastic, 1996. Philip, Neil. Odin s Family, MYTHS of the Vikings. illustrated by Maryclare Foa. Orchard, 1996. A picture book version is : Climo, Shirley. Stolen Thunder: A Norse Myth. illustrated by Alexander Koshkin.

3 Clarion, 1994. The Death of Balder Besides the children s collections of Norse MYTHS listed under the previous story Thrym Steals Mjollnir, the following collection of creation MYTHS also includes the Death of Balder: Zeitlin, Steven. The Four Corners of the Sky: Creation Stories and Cosmologies from Around the World. illustrated by Chris Raschka. Henry Holt, 2000. Why the Sun Rises When the Rooster Crows Two picture books that tell similar versions are Kimmel, Eric. Ten Suns: A Chinese Legend. illustrated by YongSheng Xuan, Holiday House, 1998. Poole, Amy Lowry. How the Rooster Got His Crown. Holiday House, 1999. Fu, Shelley. Ho Yi the Archer and Other Classic Chinese Tales. illustrated by Joseph F. Abboreno. Chinese calligraphy by Sherwin Fu. Linnet Books, 2001. 144 p. Each of the six stories is a creation myth or a foundational myth. The following collection also includes the story: Zhang, Song Nan.

4 Five Heavenly Emperors. Tundra Books, 1994. The Great Deeds of King Y The following is a picture book that relates the MYTHS of the five mythical emperors: Zhang, Song Nan. Five Heavenly Emperors: Chinese MYTHS of Creation. Tundra Books, 1994. Echo and Narcissus Several contemporary collections for children between grades four and eight, the prime age for reading about MYTHS , are: Low, Alice. The Macmillan Book of greek Gods and illustrated by Arvis Stewart. Macmillan, 1985. McCaughrean, Geraldine. greek Gods and Goddesses. illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark. McElderry, 1995. Osborne, Mary Pope. favorite greek MYTHS . illustrated by Troy Howell. Scholastic, 1989. Includes Echo and Narcissus with Narcissus being really beautiful. Russell, William. Classic MYTHS to Read Aloud. Crown, 1989. Russell provides an introduction to each story with a pronunciation guide and an after word about greek mythological origins of common English words.

5 Demeter (Ceres) Picture book versions of the story that provide interesting contrasts in interpretation are: Hodges, Margaret. Persephone and the Springtime; A greek Myth. illustrated by Arvis Stewart. Little, Brown, 1973. Hutton, Warwick. Persephone. M. K. McElderry Books, 1994. McDermott, Gerald. Daughter of Earth: A Roman Myth Delacorte Press, 1984. McDermott retells the Roman version, written by the poet Ovid, and therefore uses the Latin names Ceres and Proserpina. Proddow, Penelope. Demeter and Persephone: Homeric Hymn no. 2. illustrated by Barbara Cooney. Doubleday, 1972. Waldherr, Kris. Persephone and the Pomegranate : A Myth from Greece , Dial,1993. The Council Tree, Hah-nu-nah, the Turtle, The Two Brothers Bierhorst, John. The Woman Who Fell From the Sky : The Iroquois Story of Creation. illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker. W. Morrow, 1993. The Creation or Age of Beginning The two picture books below tell of how snail helped bring fresh water to the land and how the rivers were formed.

6 Jackson, Ellen. The Precious Gift: A Navaho Creation Myth. illustrated by Woodleigh M. Hubbard. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1996. Keams, Geri. Snail Girl Brings Water: A Navajo Story. illustrated by Richard Ziehler-Martin. Flagstaff, Ariz. : Rising Moon, 1998. Bruchac retells a more accessible version than O Bryan s ethnographic recording in: Caduto, Michael J. and Joseph Bruchac. Keepers of the Earth: Native American Stories and Environmental Activities for Children. illustrated by John Kahionhes Fadden and Carol Wood. Fulcrum Press, 1989. This version provides a more direct account of the emergence into the fourth (not fifth) world, it does not emphasize the sexual tension between males and females among the First People, and the creative force is represented by Begochidi instead of Coyote. Ga-do-was, His Star Belt The Milky Way Two books for children that include Native American MYTHS about the Milky Way are: Bruchac, Joseph and Gayle Ross.

7 The Story of the Milky Way: A Cherokee Tale. illustrated by Virginia A. Stroud. Dial, 1995. This Cherokee version focuses on how the Milky Way was formed when a Spirit Dog from the sky, who kept stealing cornmeal from an elderly couple, was frightened back into the sky and while escaping spilled the cornmeal, forming the Milky Way. Caduto, Michael J. and Joseph Bruchac. Keepers of the Night: Native American Stories and Nocturnal Activities for Children. Story illustrations by David Kahionhes Fadden, chapter illustrations by Jo Levasseur and Carol Wood. Fulcrum Pub., c1994. 146 p. Hunting the Great Bear Bruchac, Joseph. The Earth Under Sky Bear's Feet: Native American Poems of the Land. illustrated by Thomas Locker. Philomel Books, 1995. Bruchac retells in twelve poems various Native American cultures stories of the earth and sky. Goble, Paul. Her Seven Brothers. Maxwell Macmillan International, 1993. This Cheyenne story of the formation of the Big Dipper is significantly different from the Iroquois myth.

8 This myth is widespread among the Plains Indians. Lee, Fran. Wishing on a Star: Constellation Stories and Stargazing Activities For Kids. Gibbs Smith Publisher, 2001. 61 p. Prometheus One of the newer collections to include Prometheus is: Morley, Jacqueline. greek MYTHS . illustrated by Giovanni Caselli. P. Bedrick Books, 1998. 96 p. Includes twenty six MYTHS . Orpheus Green, Jen. MYTHS of Ancient Greece. Raintree Steck-Vaughn, 2001. Includes Orpheus. Alternates MYTHS with cultural contexts. For Orpheus they explain greek death rituals. Maps accompany stories. For grades 5 - 8. Mikolaycak, Charles. Orpheus. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,1992. This is a visually stunning version, according to Kirkus Review. They recommend it for older students because of the heroic nudes and Orpheus s tragic death by dismemberment, which, however, is not presented in a sensationalist manner, but rather underscores the emotional power of the myth.

9 Grades 7 and up. Sch nfeldt, Sybil Gr fin. Orpheus and Eurydice. Illustrations by Iassen Ghiuselev. Translated by Pauline Hejl, The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2001. This is a successful retelling and depiction of the tragic romance for younger children. Grades 1 - 5. Psyche Several picture books and collection of MYTHS include this romantic tale: Craft, Charlotte M. Cupid and Psyche. illustrated by K. Y. Kraft. Morrow, 1996. This is a lushly illustrated picture book. Hearn, Betsy. Beauties and Beasts. illustrated by Joanne Caroselli. Oryx Press, 1993. 179 p. Several versions of Beauty and the Beast and Cupid and Psyche are included with discussions about each tale and with suggested activities. Orgel, Doris. The Princess and the God. Orchard Books, 1996. 216 p. This is a novel about the romance of Cupid and Psyche. Osborne, Mary Pope. favorite greek MYTHS . illustrated by Troy Howell. Scholastic, 1989. Includes Cupid and Psyche. Icarus and Daedalus Picture book versions have taken both approaches as well as the approach that Icarus s fall was a warning for children to obey their parents: Evetts-Secker, Josephine.

10 Father and son tales. illustrated by Helen Cann. Scholastic Canada, 1999. 80 p. Ages 9 and up. Includes Daedalus and Icarus. McDermott, Gerald. Sun Flight. Four Winds Press, 1980. Petras, Kathryn and Ross Petras. Mythology. Workman Publishing, 1998. Fifty MYTHS on die-cut cards include Icarus and Daedalus. Laura Hummel of Children s Literature Comprehensive Database reviews says, Educators and students will delight in the unique format of knowledge at their fingertips. Both sides of the cards contain text that is illustrated richly with images of mosaics, frescoes, pottery, reliefs, paintings, and statues, making this a source difficult to resist. Yolen, Jane. Wings. illustrated by Dennis Nolan. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1991. Yolen emphasizes the concept of hubris and Daedalus s failing in this regard. She begins the story further back than most versions for children do, providing an explanation for why Daedalus and Icarus were imprisoned on the Island of Crete.