Untitled Essay, Research Paper
Myth- Aliki , The Gods and Goddesses of Olympics , Harper Collins Publishers
, 1994 .
After reading The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus , my first
reaction was that it was a wonderful and fascinating example of how Greek
mythology explains the theories about life , death , and the wonders of nature
. Although I enjoyed the book , I also wondered if it was a little too confusing
to a young child , since many long Greek names were used and many characters
interacting together became too complicated and involved.
The story began with the creation of the earth , sky,
all living things, and with the birth of the Gods and Goddesses that reigned
on Mount Olympus . The author also took each of the twelve gods and goddesses
and individually summarized their personality and duties and their purpose
and connection to the world . The author who also illustrated the book ,
used brilliant and vibrant colors and also portrayed the personality visually
by scenes and images that clearly showed the emotional side of the gods .
This myth contained some violence , sinister and inappropriate
behavior among the gods and cruel and even frightening illustrations that
I thought might be too overwhelming for a young impressionable mind . An
example of this would be when ” Cronus married his sister Rhea , and they
had many children . But Cronus was afraid that one of them might overthrow
him just as he had overthrown his father . So as each child was born , he
swallowed it .” Although Cronus eventually “throws up” the unharmed children
in the end, I feel the initial reaction might be more lasting , as well as
the fact that Cronus married his sister , which is an unacceptable taboo
in society . There were other strong images conveyed , both verbally and
visually dealing with death , jealousy , deceit , and deformities of man
and beast . Although I enjoyed this book , I felt it should be read to an
older audience that will not be negatively impressed by some parts of the
story .
Tall Tale : Kellog Steven , Sally Ann Thunder , Ann Whirlwind Crockett ,
Morrow Junior Books , 1995
In this tale , author Steven Kellog depicts the incredible
story of a girl named Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind who has an amazing
amount of strength, vitality and agility and who sets off for the frontier
at age eight . She lived with the animals and loved her life in the wilderness
until one day she meets a stranger in the woods that needs her help . It
is Davy Crockett , the most famous woodsman in America . They fall in love
and marry, but the amazing feats of strength and courage fill her daily life
and continue to surprise the town folk in this nineteenth century tale .
My first reaction to this tall tale was that it was funny
, light , and had a lot of vitality . The plot was simple for children to
follow and had only one main character , which would let the children focus
on the cumulative events that happened to this character and how the story
leads to it’s climax.
I definitely got the feeling that I was looking at a
nineteenth century story by the authors illustration and colors used. Earth
tones of brown, yellow , green and blue set the stage for an early American
atmosphere . This tale , portrayed in a humorous way , showed how the rugged
heroines of long ago dealt with the hardships and dangers of frontier life
. I feel young children will like this book and enjoy it’s funny and
whimsical dialogue and illustrations , and perhaps get a comical glimpse
of life on the frontier of long ago.
Folktale : Aardema Verna . Why Mosquitoes Buzz in peoples Ears , Illustrated
by Leo and Diane Dillon , Dial Press , 19
I found this African folktale to be a delightfully imaginative
and entertaining tale that has a simple lesson that young children would
be able to understand and relate to . The tale begins with a mosquito that
tells a tall tale (lie) to an iguana . This sets off a chain reaction that
ends in a terrible disaster involving the death of a baby owl , and a mother
owl that reacts to this disaster by refusing to hoot and wake the sun the
next morning . As the talking jungle animals tried to pinpoint who was the
cause of this terrible accident , a sequence of events recounts back to the
origin and eventually the mosquito is incriminated.
This is a cumulative tale which used repetition , accumulation
and rhythm to make a interesting and appealing story for young children .This
folk tale teaches the most basic lesson that you should never lie or there
will be serious consequences as a result . In the end, the mosquito would
not admit to his lies and therefore as a result he had a guilty conscience
thereafter . In the last paragraph the author ties the entire story together
by saying that because the mosquito has a guilty conscience he always goes
around whining in people’s ears asking ” zeee ! Is everyone still angry
at me ?”, and that is the reason “why mosquitoes buzz in people’s ears
“.
The illustrations were colorful, bold and gave the reader
the feeling and flavor of an African jungle . The only part I thought was
sad was when the baby owl died , and I thought it brought a solemn note to
an otherwise entertaining and creative folktale . The author also uses certain
words three times whenever describing the sounds of the animals or an important
emotion to be emphasized . An example of this is when the monkey “flew into
the forest crying “kaa, kaa ,kaa !” When expressing the sadness of the mother
owl the author repeated the words “so sad , so sad, so sad !”I felt this
book would be enjoyed by a young audience and would teach a valuable lesson
about the importance of truth as well as being a fun and entertaining edition
to a school or home library .
Fable :Jones , Carol. Town Mouse Country Mouse , Houghton Mifflin Co. , 1995
The Town Mouse Country Mouse was a an adorable fable that
I felt was excellent for young children . The basic and simple story begins
with two cousins , Town Mouse and Country Mouse who decide to visit one anothers
homes . Town Mouse has unrealistic expectations about life in the country
, and soon he is out of place in an environment filled with unusual sights,
sounds , and dangers . He begins to long for his familiar world in town and
heads back home along with his country cousin who longs for a glimpse at
city life . Country Mouse discovers also that he is happier in his own familiar
world and both realize that there’s no place like home .
This story would be very easily understood and enjoyed
by small children .The two main characters have a simple plot and dialogue
however , it is very descriptive which gave me the feeling of being there
and going through each encounter that the mice did. The timeless fable also
teaches a very moralistic lesson of how people can falsely believe the grass
is always greener on the other side .
The author , who also illustrated the book , created cut
out peep holes through the pages in order to see future happenings which
added a different dimension and creativity to the book . I thought the
illustrations were cozy and charming and certainly gave the reader the feeling
of being in the country and the city . The Town Mouse Country Mouse had a
touch of humor and warmth that would delight any age group and both children
and adults can relate to it’s w