The Random House Book of Greek Myths

by Joan D. Vinge

Greek myths make up the very pillar of Western culture. But they are more than classic stories every child should know. They are rousing tales—rich in character, drama, and high adventure—that have captured readers through the ages. In The Random House Book of Greek Myths , Hugo Award-winning author Joan D. Vinge introduces the Greek gods and goddesses and retells fourteen favorite myths with wit, style, and compassion. This sophisticated but accessible collection is stunningly illustrated with paintings by Oren Sherman that evoke the mystery and majesty of ancient Greece. Perfect for readers of all ages.

Genres: Mythology

160 pages, Library Binding

First published October 12, 1999

About the author

Joan D. Vinge (born Joan Carol Dennison) is an American science fiction author. She is known for such works as her Hugo Award-winning novel The Snow Queen and its sequels, her series about the telepath named Cat, and her Heaven's Chronicles books.

Reviews

[Lauren Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book but not as much as this one I am borrowing from my teacher.( has different stories and characters)

[Tracey]

This is a very easy version to begin teaching some of the myths that have shaped our lives and our culture in so many ways. I highly recommend it to parents of elementary-aged kids. It’s also good for any adults looking to just brush up on their knowledge of mythology.

[Amber Lanctot · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Random House Book Of Greek Myths by, Joan D. Vinge starts out with the promise of having its pages filled with the myths and tales of the Greek time. It promises adventure, romance, comedy and more in the tales it will tell you. In all possible ways, it delivers.

The author, Joan, tells these tales in a more modern, relaxed and relatable way that makes the book more interesting. It explains the myths and characters very well and provides all the facts needed for you to fully understand whats going on during the myth. She also separates the book into tales, so that you read one tale and then move on to the next, so it's not just all scrambled together. There’s really nothing she could have done differently except maybe put the tales in chronological order so it doesn't get too confusing and we know what's happening at what time.

What makes this author unique is the fact that she has a degree in anthropology and is known as “one of the reigning queens of science fiction”. She’s written several science fiction novels, two of which won the Hugo Award, which is a set of literary awards given for the best works of science fiction or fantasy.

Not only is she a science fiction wizard, but she also writes the book in a humorous way to make it more enjoyable. And though it's written about Ancient Greece, once again, the author wrote it in a relaxed and relatable way so as to make it more interesting and less dry and academic. The book also incorporates illustrations that helps give you an idea on what's going on during a myth or tale.
Overall, due to its humour, relatable manner, clear structure, and illustrations, this book is very interesting and would be a great read for any fan of history or science fiction. I highly recommend.

[Catriona · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was thoroughly disappointed with this book. It was so tedious, and had absolutely no detail, whatsoever. I was very bored reading this book, as the information it gave was very simple, and I had already known all the stories within the book. The major highlight of this book was that there were small profiles of a few gods and goddesses, not very many, and even then, the highlights could have been improved! I was also disappointed with this book because of its high lack of content. This book looked so much bigger than it actually is. In actuality, this book had about 6 short stories, and 10 tiny profiles. I wish that the book had been longer (I could do longer!), with way more details in everything (like in the stories what did everybody look like? In detail, what did they do?), and cooler stories (come on. We all know Hercules!). If you are planning to read this book, I advise you to have low expectations, and furthermore, just don’t read it.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vinge, D. Joan. The Random House Book of Greek Myths. New York: Random House, 1999.

This collection of stories introduces the Greek gods and goddesses, and author Joan Vinge retells fourteen myths with insight and humanity. One of the myths is titled, Pendora’s Jar. It’s about a beautiful newly wed wife named Pendora. Each god and goddess gave Pandora marriage gifts that were all contained in a jar and told her not to open the jar. Pendora, being very curious, opened the jar and all the blessed gifts (kindness, trust, hope) flew out and escaped from the jar. Pendora realized she was loosing all her gifts and slammed the jar shut, trapping only the very last gift; hope, to help people bear life’s burdens. I would recommend this book to students who are starting out learning about story myths. This book allows for a great introduction with colorful oil painted pictures that compliment the text well.
Target audience: 7-12 (Traditional Literature - Myth)

[Jessica Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love reading about greek myths and the gods and goddesses in general so I loved this book. I thought it was written well. Because of the straight up sort of tone the stories are not too lengthy, which is good because the book contains most of the well known stories. It also tells about each of the gods and goddesses and some of the minor ones. Not only was it fun to read but it is also informative.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this to educate myself on the classic stories of the Greek gods. I read quite a bit of English literature and Greek and Roman mythology frequently is mentioned in passing. I hope I will be able to remember who the author is mentioning now. :) This children's book gave me just enough information to get the story and it was a quick read.

[Tamar · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a really good book. It had descriptions of the major and some of the minor Greek gods and goddesses. It has all the basic stories including Hercules and Pegasus. I recommend this book for beginners to Greek Mythology.

[Jocelyn Montalvo Cullum]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13808436

[Kevin Keating · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty cool book written for middle school level synopsizing most of the famous Greek myths. Nice illustrations.