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krbkrbkrb's review against another edition
3.0
Hawthorne's bowdlerized myths are sometimes worse than the originals. He transforms Europa and Proserpina into small children, so that Zeus and Pluto are not just kidnappers, but pedophiles. It takes a lot of cognitive dissonance to fit ancient Greek stories into mid-nineteenth century American morality.
nellekepei's review against another edition
5.0
Read aloud to my 8-year-old son. It was a definite favourite!
just_liz's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting stories, but narration was a turn off for me.
stacikristine's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
The kids (11, 9, 7) and I listened to this. They were very engaged in the actual stories. However, the introduction felt pointless to us. It was drawn out and didn't add to the book in my opinion. I'm not a huge fan of mythology. So even though I could tell the writing was quality, it wasn't a favorite of mine.
sarahanne8382's review against another edition
4.0
This sequel to Hawthorne's The Wonder Book also retells popular tales from Greek myth in fun and engaging ways. Designed for children, some of the more salacious details are left out, but there's still plenty of adventure and slaying of mythical beasts. A solidly entertaining collection of classical mythology.
kevin_shepherd's review against another edition
3.0
I’m not certain of Hawthorne’s target audience but I have to assume, after reading this, that it was medieval cosplayers between the ages of seven and seventeen. This has a Shakespearean verbiage that may have been in vogue in 1853, but now reads as pretentious and wordy. Still, there were a few moments when this adaptation of Greek mythology was magical—but a few inspired bits here and there ‘doth not a classic make.’
apochemu's review against another edition
5.0
We listened to this in the car, read by Clive Catterall (free on LibriVox), and he did an excellent job; all of us really enjoyed it. Fun stories told in a delightful way.
mowbs's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5