Winner of the Newbery Medal, Cynthia Rylant has also received the Caldecott Award and numerous other honors. In The Beautiful Stories of Life, Rylant vividly retells the Greek myths of Pandora, Pygmalion, Narcissus, Perse-phone, Orpheus, and Psyche. Exploring classic themes of love, destruction, vanity, and redemption, these tales will introduce young readers to the exciting world of Greek mythology.
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"I listened to the short audio book with this one. Without the experience in Greek mythology to pick this retelling apart, I enjoyed listening to these stories in the way they were presented in this book. It definitely sparked further interest into the mythological world. The narrator was easy on the ears and it's something my 3rd grader could enjoy."
— Bridget (4 out of 5 stars)
" Gavin's taking Mythology.....so, I figured I could brush up on a little of the stories myself! "
— Leslie, 2/20/2014" Wonderful for reading aloud to a class undertaking the study of this genre. "
— Lasporer, 1/14/2014" I do love me some good Greek mythology, even if it is a 15 min read "
— Tabitha, 1/13/2014" Rylant does a nice job retelling some classic Greek myths. I think my students will enjoy this addition to our mytholgy books. "
— katsok, 1/9/2014" Interesting recap of several Greek myths. We listened to it in the car. The kids were transfixed. "
— Maureen, 11/28/2013" Beautiful retellings of six Greek myths. Familiar stories, but a pleasure to read over and over. "
— Victoria, 11/25/2013" I do not have a lot of familiarity with Greek mythology beyond the Disney version of Hercules. :) I found these to be beautifully written, moving stories with nice moral lessons about life. "
— Lisa, 10/3/2013" Simplified versions of 6 ancient myths. "
— Lee, 8/19/2013" Beautifully and simply told. A delightful quick read and nice review of those classic tales on a PG scale. "
— Dayna, 7/1/2013" Pandora, Orpheus, etc... Love the storytelling here. Humorous, clever, interesting. For folks who need to brush up on their Greek myths, this is a painless way to do it... and fun for children. We listened to the audio version and really enjoyed it. "
— Jane, 4/24/2013" Some of my favorite Greek myths are re told and I really like it. "
— Marilyn, 4/23/2013" Simply written beautifully illustrated. A gentle, child-friendly reminder how much of life and its lessons can be told and learned thought stories. "
— Caroline, 2/13/2013" Nice stories, pretty pictures (but I wish they'd been in color) "
— Emily, 12/21/2012" A simple but elegant retelling of six Greek Myths. Simple enough for kids but with enough commentary on life to be interesting for adults. "
— Kevin, 9/16/2012" Love Rylant's retellings of Pandora, Persephone, Psyche, and more, but the illustrations make this book look old, like 70's old. Browsers might pass this one by, which is a shame. "
— Kris, 8/19/2012" I loved her version of the tales. My 6yo advanced reader picked this up and enjoyed it. I actually think it is best appreciated by children older. "
— 'jean, 7/13/2012" MH read this and put it in my bag to return to work. I read it during my break and liked it very much, especially the last myth about Psyche and Cupid. Love is the most beautiful story of life. "
— Theresa, 5/4/2012" Interesting recap of several Greek myths. We listened to it in the car. The kids were transfixed. <br/> "
— Maureen, 6/28/2011" It was fun to hear a few of the classic Greek Myths. They are retold in an excellent way for youth to understand. <br/> "
— Elisa, 5/9/2011" Pandora, Orpheus, etc... Love the storytelling here. Humorous, clever, interesting. For folks who need to brush up on their Greek myths, this is a painless way to do it... and fun for children. We listened to the audio version and really enjoyed it. "
— Jane, 4/15/2011" Some of my favorite Greek myths are re told and I really like it. "
— Marilyn, 2/10/2011" Rylant does a nice job retelling some classic Greek myths. I think my students will enjoy this addition to our mytholgy books. "
— katsok, 4/25/2010" I do love me some good Greek mythology, even if it is a 15 min read "
— Tabitha, 2/14/2010" A simple but elegant retelling of six Greek Myths. Simple enough for kids but with enough commentary on life to be interesting for adults. "
— Kevin, 11/22/2009" Simplified versions of 6 ancient myths. "
— Lee, 10/21/2009" Beautiful retellings of six Greek myths. Familiar stories, but a pleasure to read over and over. "
— Victoria, 9/30/2009" As a classical mythology fan, I found this collection to be disappointing. The book is beautifully designed and illustrated, but Rylant’s storytelling is poor and stilted (and these are wonderful stories!). I’ll stick with d’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths! "
— Susie, 9/10/2009Cynthia Rylant is the author of more than one hundred books for young people, including the beloved Henry and Mudge series. Her novel Missing May received the Newbery Medal in 1993 and A Fine White Dust won a Newbery Honor; she is also the author of two Caldecott Honor–wining picture books. Some of her other notable works include the Annie and Snowball series, the Poppleton series, the novel The Islander, and a number of other poetry books and story collections. She lives in Lake Oswego, Oregon.
Alyssa Bresnahan is a dynamic dancer, actor, and audiobook narrator. She has narrated over two hundred audiobooks, has earned twenty Earphones Awards, and was named one of AudioFile magazine’s Golden Voices. In 2009 she was a finalist for the prestigious Audie Award for best fiction narration.