The Golden Hoard: Myths and Legends of the World

by Geraldine McCaughrean

Here are the stories that everyone knows - Robin Hood, Anaigi the Spider man, George and the Dragon - alongside a golden hoard of lesser known myths and legends from Ethopia, Mexico, China and many other countries. No one can tell a tale better than Geraldine McCaugherean. Her colourful, always readable prose sweeps you along and gives each of these 25 stories its own special magic.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
The golden wish (a Greek myth)
Shooting the sun (a Chinese myth)
George and the dragon (a Persian myth)
Skinning out (an Ethiopian myth)
Robin Hood and the golden arrow (an English legend)
Brave quest (a Native American myth)
Saving time (a Polynesian myth)
The lake that flew away (an Estonian legend)
Admirable hare (a legend from Ceylon)
All roads lead to Wales (a Welsh legend)
Rainbow snake (an Australian myth)
Juno's Roman geese (a Roman legend)
John Barleycorn (an American myth)
The singer above the river (a German legend)
How music was fetched out of heaven (a Mexican myth)
Whose footprints? (a myth from the Gold Coast)
The death of El Cid (a Spanish legend)
The man who almost lived forever (a Mesopotamian legend)
Stealing heaven's thunder (a Norse myth)
Anansi and the mind of God (a West Indian myth)
How men and women finally agreed (a Kikuyu myth)
First snow (a Native American myth)

Genres: Mythology, Fiction, Childrens

144 pages, Hardcover

First published October 30, 1995

About the author

Geraldine McCaughrean is a British children's novelist. She has written more than 170 books, including Peter Pan in Scarlet (2004), the official sequel to Peter Pan commissioned by Great Ormond Street Hospital, the holder of Peter Pan's copyright. Her work has been translated into 44 languages worldwide. She has received the Carnegie Medal twice and the Michael L. Printz Award among others.

Reviews

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book of folk tales and myths from around the world. Many are familiar, or have familiar characters, but there are plenty that were new to me. Each one tells which country/region from which the story hails, and at the end of the book is a little 1-2 sentence blurb about the story and its context. The pictures are also very nice, making it quite accessible for younger readers.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

There once was a foolish king named Midas. He loved gold, thats all he ever thought about. One day Midas saw a Centaur and he pointed the Centaur to the direction of olympus.So the magical Centaur granted Midas's wish of everything he touches turns to gold. The king realized how foolish this wish was because everything he drank or ate turned to solid gold and he could not eat or drink it. He even turned his own daughter into gold.

I thought this story was okay but it was a little strange.

I would recommend this book it was a good myth.