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 , 1975 .

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