Myths and Legends A Children's Encyclopedia

by Philip Wilkinson, D.K. Publishing (Publisher)

From lightning-wielding Zeus, the supreme Greek god, to protective Hathor, the Egyptian goddess of love - heroes, gods, and monsters are brought to life in these retellings of myths from around the world. Myths and Legends is a children's book that invites you to explore all the well-known stories from Greek and Norse mythology, and a range of other cultures across more than 100 tales. Discover the fascinating myths of Anansi, the West African trickster god who takes the form of a spider; Changing Woman, the Navajo nature goddess who changes her dress with the seasons; or Tane, the Maori forest god who first brought death to the world. Read about ferocious, man-eating monsters such as the Minotaur and Fafnir the dragon, and the legendary heroes that fought them, like Theseus and Sigurd. Also included are the legends of Robin Hood, and of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, epics such as the Mahabharata and Gilgamesh, and a host of tales from Aztec mythology and a range of other cultures. As well as offering the retellings themselves, Myths and a children's encyclopedia investigates the meanings of these primal stories, examining why these tales have stood the test of time over thousands of years. Themed features draw together elements that are common to myths from all over the world, such as shape-changers, mythical beasts, and magical weapons. Panels on modern retellings, such as China's The Monkey King and Marvel's Thor, help to show why these myths are still relevant to our lives today.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

240 pages, Hardcover

Published November 7, 2019

About the author

Philip Wilkinson (born 1955) is the author of non-fiction books for children and adults. He was educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He worked as an editor prior to becoming an author.

He specializes in works on history, the arts, religion, and architecture and has written over forty titles.

Reviews

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cool introduction to just about every myth. It obviously doesn't go into any real depth given the volume of stories but it's a nice primer. If you see a story you're interested in, you can go looking for more details in other books. The one thing I had an issue with was some of the summaries implied certain events but didn't elaborate. I don't have a good example handy but imagine you're reading the summary of Thanos the god of gloves and you read about his powers and his deeds. Then you read about Eitri whose main accomplishment was to provide Thanos an iron hand replacement when his hand was cut off. Only it's never mentioned in Thanos's summary that he lost his hand or how. There are several of these, definitely not a deal breaker. All in all, it's worth checking out. Keep an eye out for similarities, that was the best part. So many examples of "Humans were naughty so some god flooded the Earth and started over". And lots of dad gods killing their kids or kids killing their god dads. Maybe my modern view of things is distorted but it seems incredible so many stories have these common threads, when the civilizations that created them were so isolated by time and distance.

[Courtney Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been casually interested in getting a refresher on some Greek myths for a project I'm working on, and honestly, who has the time to sit down and read the entirety of Edith Hamilton just to get a little bit of an update? Instead, I decided to find a youth book on mythology in the stacks at my library, and this one did not disappoint. Even though I was initially looking for only Greek Mythology, I was pleasantly surprised by how this book covered mythology from all over the world. It was interesting to learn about South America and Asian stories, as I only have a vague knowledge of myths from those areas. I also liked how the book would choose a topic, such as weapons, and then show examples of different stories about weapons from around the world. It was fantastic to see the similarities and differences between these myths, and I honestly would check this out again if I needed another refresher course.

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[Lark-at-the-library · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very brief overview of mythology from around the world

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another fabulous DK Publishing to finish off our myths and legends studies. Both boys thoroughly enjoyed learning more about myths, legends and fables from around the world.