Monday, June 9, 2014

NGK - Everything Mythology by Blake Hoena and NG Explorer Adrienne Mayor

Illustrated by Gonzalo Ordonez and Margaret Salter
Published by National Geographic Kids

Begin Your Quest for Facts, Photos, and Fun Fit for Gods and Goddesses

What could be more exciting than reading and learning about all those amazing Mythological beings, especially illustrated in brilliant colour! This is an amazing book that fits many categories. Even this grandmother learned from it! Readers will learn mythological origins, why these origins came to be, how they evolved and changed over the years and what the main purpose of each was. What is more, we will all learn the equivalent myths from around the world, and how some myths became blended. But that is not all. There are demi-gods (half-human), deities, demons, heroes and helpful demons. Also the book will connect the mythological beings with their original geographical locations. Myths were a way of learning about the world, why nature does certain things, and how they protect us.

But mythology is ever growing. It does not stay still. As the human race progresses, so does the evolution of myths, changing with the times. I found this book to not just be informative, but to be very interesting, containing various projects for children and teens to do  and also the family trees of the earliest mythological beings and how they crossed to other races to keep the stories going. A cross-section of very old worlds and their own mythological beasts are sufficient to pique the interest of children 8 and up. Some wording may be a little difficult for younger readers due to some of the words used to describe their places in historical mythology from the Romans, Greeks, Hindi, South American, African, Wales, Australia, Asia, North American and more. Otherwise I would recommend it at any age. Author Blake Hoena and National Geographic Explorer Dr. Adrienne Mayor have done an excellent and enjoyable presentation with this book.

No comments: