Elizabeth's Mythology recommendations

Throughout my years of education, I have gained a deep interest in mythology, particularly Greek.

I strongly feel that mythology offers children, teenagers, and adults a wonderful opportunity to unlock their imagination and envision the most thrilling tales that have been passed down throughout time and between different cultures.

Here are some delightful books that I thoroughly recommend for our younger readers:

My First Pop-Up Mythological Monsters by Owen Davey

This board book provides the youngest of readers with a fun introduction in to mythological creatures across the world. Each page includes a vibrant pop-up with a geological location and description. It covers a broad range of mythological monsters including the likes of Medusa whose snake like hair is bound to start off an interesting conversation, dragons, unicorns and my personal favourite pop-up, the Cyclops from Ancient Greece, who happens to have one eye…

The Odyssey by Homer

Following on from my previous comment about my love for the Cyclops page in Owen Davey’s work perhaps you have heard of a Cyclops called Polyphemus from Homer’s powerful work ‘The Odyssey’. If not I deeply encourage older readers i.e. teenagers and adults to read this epic voyage Odysseus embarks on back to his homeland Ithaca. It is my most favourite book of all time and has deeply inspired my own educational and career path.

Greek Myths: Meet the heroes, gods, and monsters of ancient Greece by Jean Menzies

This educational book is written by the winner of the Books Are My Bag Breakthrough Author Award 2020. Gods, goddesses, mythical beings, and monsters feature throughout. The colourful illustrations by Katie Ponder and tales which may not be well-known to all, provide the young reader with an exciting introduction. What I particularly admire about this book is the display of connections between past and present including that of planet names, animals, and plants.

Mythopedia: An Encyclopedia of Mythical Beasts and their Magical Tales by Good Wives and Warriors (Becky Bolton and Louise Chappell)

This exciting book provides children with an in-depth world-wide tour of the mythical world with detailed illustrations. The reader from the very first page is provided with a wealth of knowledge and this book I feel provides children with a great opportunity to gain a deeper insight into other people’s cultural heritage.

Older readers aged 9-12 may also be interested in Tales of the Greek Heroes by Roger Lancelyn Green which is filled to the brim with adventure.

I hope you have enjoyed this list of recommendations. If you need any further recommendations please do not hesitate to contact us.

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