Thursday, April 2, 2015

Mini-Myths for the Youngest Readers by Joan Holub



In the first two books in this series, we met Pandora and Hercules. Now, the talented author, Joan Holub, and her illustrater, Leslie Patricelli, introduce the youngest of readers to two more great mythological personalities: Medusa and Midas!





Brush Your Hair, Medusa! 

(Mini Myths) |

by Joan Holub

 Illustrated by Leslie

 Patricelli 


 Ages: 1 to 3



Medusa refuses to care for her hair, her long locks getting messier with each passing page. Her hair rebellion elicits frozen expressions of shock from her family, but nothing will convince Medusa to brush. Only her hairdresser approaches Medusa with bravery and scissors, successfully solving the problem . . . with a short haircut! All are pleased with this drastic yet adorable solution. Leslie Patricelli’s depictions of this physical comedy bring a lively visual narrative to Joan Holub’s expertly focused text. Includes a summary of the original Medusa’s Wild Hair myth at the end.


MY TIDBITS


My daughter loves this little mini-myth series. She's even dedicated a special box to to them and was so excited to get her hands on this one.

Medusa is a cute little girl with amazing hair...and a tiny bit of an attitude. She doesn't want her hair brushed, and with that amazing head-o-curl, who can blame her? I had to laugh as I remembered the days of brushing my older daughter's hair, a horrid undertaking with all those curls she had. Unlike my daughter, Medusa doesn't give in - something that will make kids laugh and perhaps, frustrate parents. The story doesn't have many words, but each one is perfect and just right. The pictures are simply fun and will have kids going through them again and again.

As a parent, I appreciate how robust the book is. My daughter has dragged these to school and everywhere, and they still are in great condition. Also, on the very back page, there's a description of Medusa written in a way children will understand. I love how this opens up kids to discussions and introduces them to the world of Greek mythology without feeling over-powering.

In my opinion, this is a must read for little kids - all of them.








Make a Wish, Midas!

 (Mini Myths)

 by Joan Holub |

 Illustrated by Leslie

 Patricelli 


  Ages: 1 to 3



 Midas wants everything to be his favorite color – yellow! He chooses yellow clothes, eats yellow foods, and uses only the yellow paint at his art easel. But when he impulsively paints his beloved green Dinoboo, Midas discovers that too much of a good thing is a big mess! Joan Holub’s carefully crafted text is brought to life by Leslie Patricelli’s famously humorous illustrations. Includes a summary of the original Midas’ Golden Touch myth at the end.





MY TIDBITS


After reading the other books in this series (again and again and again, thanks to my daughter), I was a little curious to see how the author would handle Midas. Neither I nor my daughter, who's a huge fan of these books, were disappointed. Midas loves yellow and like kids sometimes do, goes to extremes. I found this story so true to life and one that will really hit home, especially when Midas' wish involves his favorite stuffed animal.

The author does a fantastic job of introducing even the youngest little readers to mythology. She takes the core of their stories and tells them in a way kids will completely understand...and see some of the characteristics in themselves. At the end, there's a short description of Midas and has experience written in a way kids will easily comprehend. It also opens up to discussions and questions, making kids already become familiar with this part of history and past cultures. .

The books are robust (my daughter's treatment of them proves that), colorful and well written. I can only recommend them.






Joan Holub’s fascination with mythology inspired Mini Myths, a new board book series that translates famous myths into situations familiar to preschoolers. The first four titles are Be Patient, Pandora!Play Nice, Hercules!Brush Your Hair, Medusa! and Make A Wish, Midas! published byAbrams Appleseed. Joan co-authors two other mythology series for Simon and Schuster, Goddess Girls (ages 8-12) and Heroes in Training (ages 7-10). Her picture book, Mighty Dads, was a New York Times bestseller in 2014.

1 comment:

cleemckenzie said...

These books look wonderful and what a great way to introduce ancient myths to kids.