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poplartears's review
3.0
Wonderful in true D'Aulaires style however there is something a little less magical about Norse myths than Greek. The children were excited at first but then lost interest. The Reader's Companion in the back of the book was essential for pronunciation.
expendablemudge's review
4.0
Well-loved books from my past
Rating: 4* of five
Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire were a married couple of Euro-origin, he Swiss and she Norwegian, who came to the US in the 1920s to pursue fame and fortune. Edgar was an illustrator for books, magazines, and the like, while Ingri painted rich guys' portraits. Came the Depression, oh dearie me...everything got harder...so the two collaborated on writing and illustrating kids' books together. For forty-plus years, the couple turned out beautiful, beautiful books.
This book, published in 1967, was a gift from my dad to me. I haven't got a lot of fond memories of my parents, and oddly most of them center around books in one shape or another. This is no exception. Dad read the book to me, even though by 1967 I was reading on my own, and we both loved the experience. He's a hambone and a half, my dad, funny and quick and full of wordplay. This book launched him on trajectories of mythmashing that, had I known then what I know now, I'd've written down or memorized or tape-recorded or something. He was abso-bloody-lutely riotous doing Odin as a doddering old fuffertut and Thor as a lisping faggot (my sides are already hurting remembering the way that made me laugh...still does...) and the Valkyries as whining misery-guts.
P.C. he was, and is, not.
The last time we spoke on the phone, before deafness and vascular dementia made it pointless to speak at all, I reminded Dad of this book. He laughed like he had when he was 40. He lit up as he did the voices again. It was a good last conversation to have with him, and it's all down to being a great big kid as he always was, and appreciating his kidliness left me feeling a lot less angry for his adult failings.
So this book holds my special and dear gratitude for being a bridge to a man I never loved, but always felt impatient with and annoyed by and hurt by. Books are magic, and myths are real, and don't ever, ever, ever forget that.
Rating: 4* of five
Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire were a married couple of Euro-origin, he Swiss and she Norwegian, who came to the US in the 1920s to pursue fame and fortune. Edgar was an illustrator for books, magazines, and the like, while Ingri painted rich guys' portraits. Came the Depression, oh dearie me...everything got harder...so the two collaborated on writing and illustrating kids' books together. For forty-plus years, the couple turned out beautiful, beautiful books.
This book, published in 1967, was a gift from my dad to me. I haven't got a lot of fond memories of my parents, and oddly most of them center around books in one shape or another. This is no exception. Dad read the book to me, even though by 1967 I was reading on my own, and we both loved the experience. He's a hambone and a half, my dad, funny and quick and full of wordplay. This book launched him on trajectories of mythmashing that, had I known then what I know now, I'd've written down or memorized or tape-recorded or something. He was abso-bloody-lutely riotous doing Odin as a doddering old fuffertut and Thor as a lisping faggot (my sides are already hurting remembering the way that made me laugh...still does...) and the Valkyries as whining misery-guts.
P.C. he was, and is, not.
The last time we spoke on the phone, before deafness and vascular dementia made it pointless to speak at all, I reminded Dad of this book. He laughed like he had when he was 40. He lit up as he did the voices again. It was a good last conversation to have with him, and it's all down to being a great big kid as he always was, and appreciating his kidliness left me feeling a lot less angry for his adult failings.
So this book holds my special and dear gratitude for being a bridge to a man I never loved, but always felt impatient with and annoyed by and hurt by. Books are magic, and myths are real, and don't ever, ever, ever forget that.
gwynsvan's review
5.0
I think of this book as having been a sort of landmark in my intellectual development. I discovered it in my school library during my second grade year, and fell in love with it. I checked it out a few times during that year, but one time, I encountered a library aide who didn't want to let me have it. The library was organized by grade level, and we primary kids weren't allowed to check things out from the higher level sections. Eventually my mother had to meet with the librarian, and after that I was the ONLY KID IN THE SCHOOL who was allowed to check out any book I wanted. What a stupid way to run a library.
Anyway, this book got me interested in mythology. I spent the next couple of years reading every collection of myths I could get my hands on. I read stories from all over the world, but by fourth grade, I'd decided the Greeks were the best. I became a fourth grade Greek mythology expert.
I believe that this book by the D'Aulaires, with its gorgeous colored-pencil illustrations, started me on a path that eventually led to my interest in language, historical linguistics, medieval history and literature. When I was in high school, I special-ordered a copy from a local bookstore, so that I could finally own the book that had such an effect on my life. In college I read some of the sagas in Old Norse and loved them. Thank you, Ingri and Edgar D'Aulaire!
Anyway, this book got me interested in mythology. I spent the next couple of years reading every collection of myths I could get my hands on. I read stories from all over the world, but by fourth grade, I'd decided the Greeks were the best. I became a fourth grade Greek mythology expert.
I believe that this book by the D'Aulaires, with its gorgeous colored-pencil illustrations, started me on a path that eventually led to my interest in language, historical linguistics, medieval history and literature. When I was in high school, I special-ordered a copy from a local bookstore, so that I could finally own the book that had such an effect on my life. In college I read some of the sagas in Old Norse and loved them. Thank you, Ingri and Edgar D'Aulaire!
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