The Golden Hoard

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

McCaughrean (Greek Myths) could probably weave a mesmerizing tale from the copy on the back of a cereal box. Here, harvesting 22 tales from lands as diverse as Ethiopia, Estonia, and Ceylon, she has far more promising material to work with; even so, the strength of this collection emanates from her storytelling more than from the often exotic contents. Witness her deceptively casual beginning to the all-too-familiar story of King Midas: "There was once a fool. Of course there have been far more fools than one, and fools more often than once. But this particular fool was a king, so his foolishness mattered." First-time illustrator Willey's compelling illustrations are a superb fit, too. With their vivid, dreamlike use of color, they-like the stories-quicken the reader's own imaginings. Ages 10-up. (Apr.)

Children's Literature - Deborah Zink Roffino

Here's a commendable blend of the familiar with lesser-known myths from remote corners of the world. Twenty-two fantastic tales are collected here from Greece, Persia, Ceylon, and more. Fifteen of the stories are classified as myths, however, most of the remaining legends in this book also concern supernatural forces that meddle in the lives of humans. Vibrant and dramatic accent pictures enhance the concise, enchanted stories.

School Library Journal

Gr 3-7-McCaughrean, known for her collections of Greek myths and Shakespearean tales, adds this multicultural anthology to her list. With adaptations that range from the tender and heroic "Death of El Cid" from Spain to the humorous "How Men and Women Finally Agreed" from Kenya, she presents wonderful stories from around the world. She includes many well-known characters such as King Midas, Thor, Robin Hood, the Lorelei, and Coyote the Trickster, as well as the less familiar Adapa of Mesopotamia, Estonia's flying lake, and Australia's Rainbow Snake. She retells tales of creation, romance, wit, and adventure with evocative language, and sometimes addresses readers directly as an oral storyteller would. The mixed-media illustrations are rendered in a folksy, childlike style and include cultural motifs from each legend. As with many collections, the pictures seem decorative rather than integral to the enjoyment of the stories. Quite a few anthologies of world myths and legends exist, but this one makes a place for itself because of its breadth and accessibility.Cheri Estes, Detroit Country Day School Middle School, Beverly Hills, MI

Hazel Rochman

nger for reading aloud. As in her wonderful "Greek Myths" (1993), McCaughrean retells some of the world's oldest myths and legends for a contemporary audience. Much of the spirit and beauty of the originals is here, but there's not much attention paid to sources, beyond a brief note on each story. McCaughrean says that stories change with each teller to suit the listener and that she has sometimes drawn on just "the briefest passing references in dusty old volumes." There's little to unify these 22 stories: from a comic version of King Midas who wanted to be a millionaire to the lyrical Mexican myth of Quetzacoatl who fetched music out of Heaven, this is a resource anthology for reading aloud or storytelling and for readers to dip into for themselves, one story at a time. Mixed media illustrations in brilliantly colored folk-art style extend the action, romance, and magic of the stories. What's irresistible here is the storytelling voice ("Her lover had chosen to marry someone else, and her heart was a rock within her, heavy and hard" ). The combination of the colloquial and the poetic, the immediate and the mysterious makes you know that myth is about all of us.

Kirkus Reviews

McCaughrean (The Odyssey, 1995, etc.) makes good on the subtitle—"Myths and Legends of the World"—with 22 exploits by the likes of Coyote, the Polynesian trickster Maui, Robin Hood, and St. George, all trippingly retold in a modern idiom: " `Look out, here comes Quetzalcoatl,' said the Sun, glowering, lowering, his red rimmed eyes livid." Whether writing in a traditional, heroic vein, as in her tale of El Cid's final battle, or with the rap rhythm of the West Indian "Anansi and the Mind of God," McCaughrean's voice is distinctive, and she puts her own spin on some stories, adding an ironic ending to the Sumerian "Man Who Almost Lived Forever," and emphasizing the feminism in a Kikuyu tale of gender conflict. The illustrations are awkwardly drawn but vibrantly colored; Willey suggests each tale's source with culturally characteristic patterns and fashions, but the neoprimitive figures and compressed compositions have less impact than her slashes of red and orange, undulating blues and rich greens.

While most of these tales are available elsewhere (some in other versions by McCaughrean), this is an unusually well-knit, wide-ranging gathering. Brief, nonspecific source notes are appended.