From: DAJ <daj9999>
Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2008 19:19:45 -0700 (PDT)

Although not strictly about classic myths, two books I found interesting were Turner's _The Thief_ and Catherine Fisher's _The Oracle Betrayed_. Both try to capture a world view in which myths are part of everyday life (or, in Fisher's case, in which those who've been assigned to serve a deity occupy a separate, sacred space), even though neither is connected with an actual historical culture. I wish there were more along those lines -- even (especially?) historical fiction. (Didn't Elizabeth Speare say she wrote _The Bronze Bow_ to try to give a sense of everyday life during the time of the apostles? Are there any similarly strong titles covering early Greece?)

And do mythologies other than Greek and Roman receive much attention in classrooms and/or library programs? I know there was a beautiful 3-picture-book series on Gilgamesh and that the d'Aulaires' book about Norse Myths was recently reissued, but still don't hear much about novels (or picture books) drawing on sources like those (Farmer's _Sea of Trolls_ being the notable exception). Or am I just overlooking them?


DAJ


19th-Century Girls Series - http://www.readseries.com




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Received on Sun 19 Oct 2008 09:19:45 PM CDT