Myth- Aliki, The Gods And Goddesses Of Olympics Essay, Research Paper

Myth- Aliki, The Gods and Goddesses of Olympics

History 106-05 Nov. 27, 1996 Eng. 265-01 Oct. 1, 1996 Prof Janice Antczak

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 wise

message and moralistic lesson for generations to come .