Mythology – Page 3 – Unleashing Readers

Guardians of the Gryphon’s Claw by Todd Calgi Gallicano

September 1, 2017 by Kellee

Guardians of the Gryphon’s Claw
Author: Todd Calgi Gallicano
Published August 29th, 2017 by Delacorte Press

Summary: A new action adventure series set in our famous national parks! Enter the world of the Department of Mythical Wildlife, where our protagonist, Sam London, is tasked with protecting legendary animals that secretly live amongst our treasured wildlife.

Haunted by a dream of a mythical gryphon, Sam London uncovers an ancient secret that will change the way he sees the world forever. Recruited by Dr. Vance Vantana, an eccentric zoologist and park ranger sent by the government, Sam is whisked away on an adventure that takes him to the farthest reaches of the globe. Along this journey, Sam learns an incredible truth: mythical creatures are real and living among us in our national parks. A special department in the U.S. government ensures that their existence remains hidden.

But Sam’s dream is an omen that the secret may now be in danger. Someone seeks the power to expose these creatures and overthrow humankind–and that power can only be found in a magical talisman known as the gryphon’s claw.

“A fun-filled start to a series that is sure to keep lovers of Rick Riordan running to the shelves.”-SLJ

“A death-defying, globe-spanning adventure, packed with creatures out of folklore and myth….[Guardians of the Gryphon’s Claw is] a solid series opener and debut for Gallicano, who stocks his story with engaging characters, human, and otherwise.”-Publishers Weekly

Review: I could not stop raving about this book as I read it! I tweeted about it, talked to everyone I saw about it, and even mentioned in a couple of IMWAYR posts. You know why? Because it is so much fun, the plot is so well-crafted, and finally my fans of Riordan’s mythological adventures are going to finally have a book that they’re going to love has much as his books. However, I don’t want you to think this is a Riordan copy-cat. It is a totally unique adventure with mythical creatures. I loved the combination of mythologies from different cultures, humor!, the new explanation of mythical creatures living with us yet hidden among us, and the inclusion of national parks in Sam’s story.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Guardians of the Gryphon’s Claw will be a perfect new addition to mythology units in middle school to share along side Percy Jackson and other Riordan words. Gallicano even included a glossary of the mythical creatures that will be a wonderful asset to classrooms. However, I feel that primarily the book will be found in students’ hands.

Discussion Questions: What do you think the cliffhanger means?; What character traits does Sam posess that helped him in his adventures?; Which mythical creature would scare you the most? Which mythical creature would you want to have in your house? Which mythical creature would you want to hang out with?; Do you think Phylassos did the right thing in hiding his identity? About getting Sam London involved in the adventure?; Discuss Chriscanis and his journey in the book.; How did Sam’s story fit the Hero’s Journey?

Flagged Passages: “The flapping of the creature’s massive wings sent up a swirling column of dust that blanketed the plateau and rose hundreds of feet into the air. In Death Valley, these whirlwinds of dirt were often called sand augers — twisting, dust-filled tornados that fed off the desert floor as they moved across the landscape. Sam had forgotten about this part of the dream and closed his eyes and covered his mouth a moment too late. When he heard the wings slow and felt the haze begin to settle, he cautiously opened his eyes. They instantly stung from the dissipating cloud of dust, and he coughed as particles of desert sand forced their way into his throat. But it was all suddenly worth it–the stinging, the coughing, the lying, the possible grounding for eternity–for what he saw standing before him was truly extraordinary. Phylassos had returned.”

Read This If You Love: Mythology, Mythical Creatures, Adventure

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Random House Children’s Books for providing a copy for review!**

The Book of Heroines: Tales of History’s Gutsiest Gals & The Book of Heroes: Tales of History’s Most Daring Dudes from National Geographic Kids

February 12, 2017February 1, 2017 by Kellee

Nonfiction Wednesday

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday is hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and was started to help promote the reading of nonfiction texts. Most Wednesdays, we will be participating and will review a nonfiction text (though it may not always be a picture book).
Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy and see what other nonfiction books are shared this week!

The Book of Heroines: Tales of History’s Gutsiest Gals
Author: Stephanie Warren Drimmer
Published November 8th, 2016 by National Geographic Children’s Books

The Book of Heroes: Tales of History’s Most Daring Guys
Author: Cristpin Boyer
Published November 8th, 2016 by National Geographic Children’s Books

The Book of Heroines Summary: Everybody needs a role model! Discover true stories of superstars, war heroes, world leaders, gusty gals, and everyday girls who changed the world.

From Sacagawea to Mother Teresa, Annie Oakley to Malala Yousafzai, these famous females hiked up their pants and petticoats or charged full-speed ahead to prove that girls are just as tough as boys…maybe even tougher. Complete with amazing images and a fun design, this is the book that every kid with a goal, hope, or dream will want to own.

The Book of Heroes Summary: Everybody needs a role model! Discover the true stories of superheroes, rebels, world leaders, action heroes, sports legends, and many more daring dudes, all of whom played their part to make their mark, make a contribution, and make the world a better place.

From Abraham Lincoln to Sitting Bull, Stephen Hawking to Galileo, these cool guys had the boldness, bravery, and brains to meet the challenges of their day. With a fun design, engaging text, and high-quality photographs, this is ultimate hero guide and keepsake for 21st century kids .

Review: As I’ve stated over and over, I am so impressed with all the new National Geographic Kids books that I have encountered over the last couple of years. With this text, I specifically found the way that the publisher/authors structure the texts makes them so thematic-based thus accessible and informative. The books also have something for everyone as so many different types of heroines/heroes are featured from scientists, historical heroes, political heroes, and more! I cannot wait to put these in my classroom and find out how to use them with students!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Teachers will find this book irreplaceable! It has so much information to fit into so many different units, connect with so many different texts, and relates to so many parts of history. These texts could also be used as the basis of a inquiry project where students use these texts as previews and they choose a theme or a hero/heroine and complete a research/inquiry project around it or maybe even create a text set around the theme or the person.

Discussion Questions: Which heroine/hero do you think changed history the most?; If you were to take part in an inquiry project about one hero/heroine, who would you like to learn more about?; Why did the author/publisher choose to structure the text in the way they did? What other structures could they have chosen? Which do you feel would have had a bigger impact?

Flagged Passages:

Read This If You Love: Biographies, History, Women’s Rights, Science, Animals, Mythology

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Karen at Media Masters Publicity for providing copies for review!**

Frightlopedia by Julie Winterbottom

January 18, 2017 by Kellee

Nonfiction Wednesday

Frightlopedia: An Encyclopedia of Everything Scary, Creepy, and Spine-Chilling, from Arachnids to Zombies
Author: Julie Winterbottom
Illustrator: Stefano Tambellini
Published August 23rd, 2016 by Workman Publishing Company

Summary: Here’s the book for kids who love scary stuff, whether it’s telling ghost stories around a campfire, discovering the origins of various vampires, monsters, and witches, or reading creepy tales under the covers with a flashlight.

Combining fact, fiction, and hands-on activities, Frightlopedia is an illustrated A-Z collection of some of the world’s most frightening places, scariest stories, and gruesomest creatures, both real and imagined. Discover Borneo’s Gomantong Cave, where literally millions of bats, cockroaches, spiders, and rats coexist—in pitch darkness. Learn about mythical creatures like the Mongolian Death Worm—and scarily real ones like killer bees, which were accidentally created by scientists in the 1950s. Visit New Orleans’s Beauregard-Keyes house, where Civil War soldiers are said to still clash in the front hall. Plus ghost stories from around the world, a cross-cultural study of vampires, and how to transform into a zombie with makeup. Each entry includes a “Fright Meter” measurement from 1 to 3, because while being scared is fun, everyone has their limit.

Review: I loved the structure of this text, and students and other teachers will as well. Different than a traditional encyclopedia, the Frightlopedia mixes fact, fiction, traditional literature, and hands-on activities which makes this a perfect classroom text as it will suck in readers in so many different ways, and it will also work in such a variety of classroom activities as well.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Like I shared above, this text has a really nice mix of genres along with hands-on activities. For example, parts of the text could be used during lessons on mythology, literary standards, traditional literature, science, or history. There is just so much, it is hard to actually share it all. Go into MONSTERS, if you want include mythological creatures; SHARKS or JELLYFISH during biology; CAPUCHIN CATACOMBS or MUMMIES in history; XYLOPHOBIA or CLAUSTROPHOBIA during word students of affixes; WRITE YOUR OWN GHOST STORY during creative writing; and so much more!

Discussion Questions: Which section did you find the most frightening? Why? The most interesting? Why?; Do you believe in ghosts?; How were mummies made in different cultures?; Which animal is the most frightening to you?

Flagged Passages:

Read This If You Love: Ghost stories, mythology, being scared, learning about weird animals, learning about scary history

Recommended For:

Author Guest Post!: “All About Imps” by Henry Herz, Author of When You Give an Imp a Penny

February 25, 2016February 14, 2016 by Kellee

“All About Imps”

According to German mythology, imps are lesser goblins who often seek humans on whom to commit mischievous, not evil, acts. Imps are described as small, wild and willful; in some cultures they are synonymous with fairies. They are sometimes depicted as unattractive small demons. Although immortal, imps could be harmed with magical weapons or kept out of one’s house with magical wards.

There’s a certain pathos associated with imps, as their mischief is meant to attract human attention and friendship, but typically produces the opposite effect. Even in “successful” situations, the imp remains true to its nature, and continues to play pranks on its human host. Hence the term “impish” is often used today to describe someone who is a trickster or practical joker.

Given their quasi-demonic appearance, some believed that imps were servants of witches and warlocks, sometimes known as familiars. Such familiars, in the form of the all-too-common black cat, black dog, or toad, were considered proof of witchcraft during the era of witch hunts. Science!!

Imp legend in some cases associates imps with an object. Some imps were kept within a container, like a bottle or lamp. Others were not contained within, but magically bound to an object like a sword or jewel.

Imps could be considered the alter-egos of the far more helpful brownies (not to be confused with young girl scouts or a delicious chocolatey treat). According to Scottish and English folklore, brownies are small humanoids that inhabit unused portions of houses, such as attics, basements, or within the walls. Brownies help with the household chores, but because they don’t like to be seen, they work at night. They appreciate gifts of food, particularly honey, porridge and dairy products. But brownies may depart the home if their gifts are referred to as payments, or if the human occupants mistreat them. It seems like a brownie would be a natural solution to an imp infestation.

Imps appear in the games Forgotten Realms and Dungeons & Dragon, and in the books THE BOTTLE IMP by Robert Louis Stevenson, LIVES OF THE NECROMANCER by William Godwin, THE IMP AND THE CRUST by Leo Tolstoy, The Oz series by L. Frank Baum, and MONSTER GOOSE NURSERY RHYMES by Henry Herz.

Henry Herz’s latest picture book, published by Pelican, is WHEN YOU GIVE AN IMP A PENNY. Before you lend an imp a penny, there’s something you should know—such a simple act of generosity could set off a side-splitting chain of events! A colorful picture book full of mythology, mischief, and magic, WHEN YOU GIVE AN IMP A PENNY shows us just what happens when an accident-prone—but well-intentioned—imp comes along asking for favors! The same writer/illustrator duo that brought you MONSTER GOOSE NURSERY RHYMES brings to life a comedy of fabled proportions.

From tracking mud on the floor to setting the broom on fire, this clumsy little imp causes accidents wherever he goes, but he’s determined make things right again. The only thing it will cost his host is a little patience—and maybe a bit of time cleaning up some messes! It won’t be long before this troublemaker has won over the entire family (except for the cat) with his irrepressible charm. Herz’s whimsical prose and Larson’s bold illustrations make this tale a laugh from beginning to end—and then again!

When You Give an Imp a Penny
Author: Henry, Josh, and Harrison Herz
Illustrator: Abigail Larson
Published February 1st, 2016 by Pelican Publishing Company

Goodreads Summary: If you’ve ever given an imp a penny, then you know how outrageous things can get. If you haven’t…consider yourself warned! In this vibrant new story from the writer and illustrator behind Monster Goose Nursery Rhymes, a well-meaning imp needs one tiny favor. But sometimes even the smallest of good deeds can lead to huge accidents! When he tries to help you clean house, this clumsy imp will leave everything messier than ever. And once he’s done burying his money bag for safekeeping, your yard might never be the same. With colorful illustrations right out of a fairy tale and a story that will get the whole family laughing, this book is a must-have for every lover of fantasy.

About the Author: Henry Herz writes fantasy and science fiction for children. He is represented by Deborah Warren of East/West Literary Agency. His debut traditionally published picture book, MONSTER GOOSE NURSERY RHYMES (reviewed here on 3/27/15), was published by Pelican in January 2015. WHEN YOU GIVE AN IMP A PENNY and LITTLE RED CUTTLEFISH will follow in 2016. Henry and his sons have also indie-published four children’s books. NIMPENTOAD reached #1 in Kindle Best Sellers large print sci-fi & fantasy, and was featured in Young Entrepreneur, Wired GeekDad, and CNN. BEYOND THE PALE featured short stories by award-winning and New York Times bestselling authors Saladin Ahmed, Peter S. Beagle, Heather Brewer, Jim Butcher, Rachel Caine, Kami Garcia, Nancy Holder, Gillian Philip & Jane Yolen, and reached #2 in Amazon Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Anthologies.

Henry is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) and the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). Henry participates in literature panels at a variety of conventions, including San Diego Comic-Con and WonderCon. Henry created KidLit Creature Week (www.birchtreepub.com/kcw/), an annual online gallery of monsters, creatures, and other imaginary beasts from children’s books. Henry writes articles about children’s literature for TheWriteLife.com. He reviews children’s books for the San Francisco Book Review and the San Diego Book Review.

Blog: http://www.henryherz.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/henry.herz/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Nimpentoad

Thank you Henry for sharing your newest picture book!

and

Review and Author’s Guest Post!: “Josh, Harrison & Dad’s Excellent Adventure” by Henry L. Herz, Author of Monster Goose Nursery Rhymes

March 27, 2015 by Kellee

Monster Goose Nursery Rhymes
Authors: Henry, Josh, and Harrison Herz
Illustrator: Abigail Larson
Published February 7th, 2015 by Pelican Publishing Company

Goodreads Summary: Enter an enchanted land of mythical creatures where manticores reign and ogres roar-a land of mystery and fright. A unique twist on traditional rhymes of everyone’s youth, “Monster Goose Nursery Rhymes” presents a more sinister approach to these childhood classics, and yet the sing-song nature of the poems renders them playful and jovial at the same time. Little Witch Muffet is not frightened by a silly, little spider; she simply adds him to her stew!

Rotten zombies, giants, dwarves, and goblins mingle with werewolves, centaurs, and fauns. Follow along the skeleton stepping stones, scale up a palisade, claw at the window of a tasty child and bake him into a pumpkin shell. Monsters cook up delicious elvish pie, too! Every kid who has an eensy weensy bit of sense wants a pet with feathers white as snow, who flies like an eagle and bleats like a goat-a hippogriff, of course!

Six forest sprites with four times as many pixies escape from a loaf of bread atop the elaborate table of the fey queen; her feast has flown away! If you enjoy mischief and have a penchant for the morbidly hilarious, the Herzs’ rhymes will satisfy your mythological curiosities.

Larson’s illustrations give new life to these ancient figures, and her artistic style employs the bold lines and colorful movement of an action-packed comic book. The author also includes a “bestiary” with information about the book’s legendary creatures, which hail from Scotland, Germany, Italy, Persia, Haiti, and Scandinavia.

Kellee’s Review and Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Really like the creativity of mashing monster/mythology and nursery rhymes. A great intro to all things traditional lit and fantasy in a rhyming, fun way. I especially liked that the creatures hail from a variety of places and that the author included an appendix that includes information about each of them. I think this book would be a great way to introduce mythology as well as give students an opportunity to make their own parody of a nursery rhyme using a creature.

One thing that makes this book special is that Henry Herz wrote this book with his two sons. I am happy to share with you a post about their collaboration:

Josh, Harrison, and Dad’s Excellent Adventure

The astute observer will notice that there are three author credits for Monster Goose Nursery Rhymes. That’s because my young sons were involved in its creation. This is the tale of how two boys became traditionally published authors.

A few years ago (in a galaxy far away), I wanted to share my love of fantasy with my young sons. They were too little for watching most of the fantasy and sci-fi movie classics, and there are only so many good fantasy books available for that age range. Struck by inspiration one day, I came up with a way to share the joy of entering the magical realms of fantasy. I would write a fantasy book for them.

What I did not anticipate was that my boys would give me feedback on the story. They devised some of the character (Nimpentoad) and creature (Neebel) names and made plot line suggestions. And who better to help make the story appealing to kids than other kids? So, the goal of interesting my sons in fantasy transformed into also encouraging them to write.

Originally, I only shared the story of Nimpentoad with family, for their own enjoyment. I had no thoughts of having the book published. But one day, my sister-in-law suggested that I consider publication because she felt the story was much better than many of the books she was seeing for her similarly-aged kids. I thought about it for a while, and decided to give it a try.

The first step was to find the right artist. Once again, my sons were involved, this time in providing art direction. We would explain in words what each illustration should contain. Collaborating remotely via email and DropBox, our artist would give us a rough sketch, and we would provide feedback on details and color palette. Nimpentoad came to life, while my boys added another dimension to their experience.

Given the amount of time that had passed, as well as the anticipated challenges with finding an agent or publisher willing to take a chance on an unproven writer, we decided to indie-publish. The response to Nimpentoad was encouraging, and we subsequently indie-published Twignibble (an easy reader about a mechanically-inclined sloth, who travels the world helping his endangered animal friends), and How the Rhino Got His Skin (an updated picture book version of Rudyard Kipling’s classic).

We’ve done book readings and signings at schools, libraries, museums, farmer’s markets, book fairs, and bookstores. My boys are now experienced sales professionals! They know how to handle themselves with new people, and easily sell more books than I do.

Like any good author, I am committed to honing my craft. I belong to critique groups, participate in Tara Lazar’s annual Picture Book Idea Month (PiBoIdMo) event, and took a picture book writing class at UCSD. Part of the class curriculum was to draft some picture book manuscripts. Kids love monsters and I love monsters (being a big kid myself), and so the idea for Monster Goose Nursery Rhymes was born.

As with our other collaborations, I drafted the book, and then had my sons review it. Then it went through my critique group and more revisions. I subsequently attended the Orange County Editor’s Day event hosted by the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). Monster Goose Nursery Rhymes won best picture book. After that, it was time to query agents and editors. Happily, several editors expressed interest. We chose Pelican Publishing, and the rest is history.

Writing rhyming picture books is very challenging (see why at http://wp.me/p31Xf4-K0). I jokingly encourage newbie writers to visit www.DontDoRhyme.com (not a real website). The irony is not lost on me that my debut traditionally published picture book is in rhyme. My only excuse is that I didn’t have to invent the meter, I just had to twist the words to fit the existing meter.

If you want to interest your kids in mythological creatures, or fantasy literature in general, give Monster Goose Nursery Rhymes a look. Just take care – Monster Goose Nursery Rhymes is a gateway book to The Lightning Thief and, eventually, to The Lord of the Rings.

Learn more about Monster Goose Nursery Rhymes at http://www.birchtreepub.com/mgnr.htm.

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Henry L. Herz for providing a copy for review and for the guest post!**

Festival of the Bones / El Festival de las Calaveras: The Book for the Day of the Dead by Luis San Vicente

October 31, 2014 by Kellee

Festival of the Bones / El Festival de las Calaveras: The Book for the Day of the Dead
Author: Luis San Vincente
Translator: John William Byrd, Bobby Byrd
Published September 1st, 2002 by Cinco Puntos Press

Goodreads Summary: On Mexico’s Day of the Dead, the skeletons jump for sheer joy. And no wonder: they’ve been cooped up the whole year and now they’re ready to party. Watch the calaveras shake, rattle, and roll as they celebrate the biggest event of the graveyard’s social calendar!

About the Author: The works of Mexico City artist Luis San Vicente have been exhibited in Mexico, Venezuela, Europe, and the United States. He has won UNESCO’s prestigious NOMA Encouragement Concours Prize for Illustration, and UNESCO honored his work (1997, 1998, and 1999) in their prestigious Youth and Children’s Catalog of Illustrations.

My Review and Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: I first learned about the Day of the Dead when I lived in Texas. My father was the director Laguna Gloria, the art museum in Austin, and I saw some artwork from local Mexican-American artists that depicted the traditional skeleton seen in Day of the Dead art. My father then told me about the holiday and since then I have been quite intrigued with it. San Vicente’s story is a great introduction to the (kind of creepy) holiday, its history, and traditions. The text is in verse with a catchy rhythm and the illustrations are so lively AND it is bilingual. I loved seeing the text in Spanish and English. Then, the afterword further informs the readers about the holiday filling in any gaps left by the story.

Discussion Questions: What did you learn about Mexico’s Day of the Dead? How is it celebrated? What is its history? What food is eaten at the celebrations?

We Flagged:

“Giddyup! Giddyup!
Oh, they want to catch me.
To that ugly skeleton…
They want to marry me.

¡Arre! ¡Arre!
Oh, me quieren atrapar.
Para esa fea esqueleto …
Ellos quieren que se case conmigo.”

Recommended For:

Happy Halloween, All Hallows’ Eve, All Saints’ Eve, All Hallows’ Day and Day of the Dead!

**Thank you to Cinco Puntos Press for providing a copy for review**

Voices of the Sea by Bethany Masone Harar

July 27, 2015July 10, 2014 by Ricki

Voices of the Sea
Author: Bethany Masone Harar
Expected Publication: July 22, 2014 by WiDo Publishing

Summary: Seventeen-year-old Loralei is the future Guardian of her Siren clan. To outsiders, she appears to live the average life of a teenager, but like her ancestors, her voice has the power to entrance men. But the Sons of Orpheus are determined to destroy all Sirens, and when members from her clan are savagely murdered, Loralei feels a responsibility to protect her people. When Lora meets Ryan, a new student in her school, she can’t help but be drawn to him in a way that feels both exhilarating and unsettling. The sea’s dark whispers urge Lora to find the Sons of Orpheus, and she quickly learns that no one can be trusted.

Review: I was drawn to the mystery of this novel. I found myself turning the pages quickly, eager to uncover the mystery of Half-Moon Bay. This is a book that would be very appealing to my students as it is very engaging. The romance is passionate and fiery, and it is a text that would be easily passed amongst peers. Loralei is a strong, independent woman who works fearlessly to lead her clan. She faces danger with her eyes wide open, and teens can learn much from her strength. The book is cleverly crafted with the perfect amount of detail to leave readers guessing.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: My heart swelled at the many references to mythology. This text is unlike others that may be defined as paranormal romance in that the author includes a rich history of Sirens. Teachers can capitalize on this by asking students to explore Sirens further or research other mythological creatures.

Discussion Questions: How does the author develop the plot to keep readers engaged? Which details does she withhold? Which does she provide? Can you see any foreshadowing?; Can Loralei trust the people in her life? Which characters feel nefarious to you? Which can be trusted?

We Flagged: “She could no more ignore the ocean than she could her own soul” (Chapter Two).

Please note: This quotation was taken from an advanced reader copy. It may change in the final publication.

Read This If You Loved: Of Poseidon by Anna Banks, Nightshade by Andrea Cremer, Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Recommended For: