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Max and Ruby's Midas: Another Greek Myth

Name: Max and Ruby's Midas: Another Greek Myth
Author: Rosemary Wells
ISBN: 9780142500668

by Rosemary Wells

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Overview

Max is eating too many cupcakes, and his big sister, Ruby, decides to cure him of his sweet tooth. Ruby reads Max a Greek myth about young Prince Midas who uses magic to turn healthy food into ice-cream sundaes, Popsicles, and birthday cake. But when Midas accidentally changes his family into delicious desserts, he realizes that there can be too much of a good thing. Will Max learn a lesson from Midas and resist eating one more cupcake?

Ruby tries to keep her brother Max from eating so many sweets by reading him an altered version of the story of King Midas.

Synopsis

Publishers Weekly

"I am going to read you a bedtime story about someone whose sweet tooth got out of control," announces authoritative Ruby after she catches Max, her puckish brother, hiding cupcakes in his pajamas. Max (and any child) will effortlessly absorb-if not necessarily learn from-the Midas legend presented here in Wells's (Max and Ruby's First Greek Myth/Pandora's Box) droll narrative and ink-and-watercolor art. Uncannily resembling Max, Midas is a gluttonous young bunny who hates fruits and vegetables. One morning, he "laser-beams his eyes" to turn a serving of melon topped with prune whip into a hot-fudge sundae. The magic works, but unfortunately his mother's hand is in the path of his beam, and she turns into a cherry float. Midas's father and big sister, respectively, suffer similar fates at lunch and at snacktime. This revisionist Midas learns his lesson, unlike the still-ravenous Max, who pulls a cupcake out of his pajamas as Ruby leaves his room-a winsome crowning touch, typical of the irrepressible Max and his clever creator. And the endpaper paintings of classical greco-bunny statues should not be missed. Ages 4-8. (May)

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Children's Literature - Uma Krishnaswami

"Back they go, Max," said Ruby. "One more of these and you'll turn into a cupcake." A favorite hero, Max the rabbit, is back, this time in an uproariously funny version of the Midas legend. Proper sister Ruby tries to curb Max's sweet tooth, with results that would have had King M himself in stitches. In a market flooded with anthropomorphic animals that are hard to swallow, Max somehow is eminently appealing. In the end, we're left comforted with the thought that he's completely incorrigible, and so we can perhaps await further volumes containing Ruby's untiring efforts to reform him. And if "escalarium" sounds a tad more Roman than Greek, is such a minor point really worth the quibble?

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 1Max and Ruby return, as once again the bossy elder bunny attempts to shape up her impish sibling through the power of myth, this time teaching him the folly of gluttony. As Max tries to sneak off with a plate of luscious cupcakes, Ruby seizes the golden opportunity and proceeds to read him a story of a young prince named Midas who eats only sweets and discovers his talent for turning dreaded dishes into delectable delightsas well as, unfortunately, anyone he happens to touch. His family is transformed into life-sized caricatures of his favorite desserts, looking at him mournfully as they take the form of a cherry float or blob of lime jello. It's a hilarious story within a story, with the playersall rabbits, of courseadorned in ancient Greek dress and set against sunlit scenes of cerulean waters and gentle mountains. The confectionary colors set just the right mood, as do the positioning of modern sweets against classical motifs. The book is easy to read and predictable in the best senseas always, Max is undaunted by the lesson, and, once again, he gets the last word. A truly modern retelling, straight from the lagomorph's mouth, and full of child appeal.Trev Jones, School Library Journal

Hazel Rochman

With wicked humor, Wells retells the Midas myth and subverts the moral lesson. Max the bunny craves junk food, so he hoards all the cupcakes. His older sister, Ruby, worries about him, so she tells him a bedtime story about the little bunny Prince Midas, who discovers that he can use laser-beams from his eyes to transform prune whip into a hot-fudge sundae. In the end, Midas finds he's turned all his family into melted ice cream and sagging Jell-O, and he's sorry; he realizes he's had too much of a good thing. Ruby points out the lesson to Max, who looks appropriately contrite--until his sister leaves and Max relishes the cupcake he's been hoarding all along. As in "Max and Ruby's First Greek Myth: Pandora's Box" (1993), Wells' ink-and-watercolor pictures reveal the mischief of the small child with magical power. Older readers will get the parody, but even preschoolers will relish the reversals.