Thursday, April 28, 2011

Childhood Thrills (April 2011).



Childhood Thrills is a feature that recalls books I read in my childhood or adolescence that were special to me or "haunt" me in some way. I don't intend to re-read & review them, just simply share my memories and the feelings they evoke.

**********************************************************************************

D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths and Norse Myths.

With the resurgence of Greek myth re-tellings, I thought I would talk about these wonderful collections.  When I discovered D'Auliere's Greek Mythis in the library, I knew that big, bright yellow book was a treasure.  I was enchanted as I read about the Gods and Goddesses of Mt. Olympus.  I was enthralled by Promethius and Pandora, mesmerized by Persephone and Hades and I felt sorry for Hephaestos and how much he loved Aphrodite.  I was in awe of Poseidon, could never relate to Hera and absolutely adored Mercury.  And the pictures!  Bright, colorful and vivid, bringing these characters to life.  I remember dressing up my Barbie dolls as the characters and acting out the myths.  My friend always wanted her barbie to be Artemis and no matter how much Ken begged, Artemis-Barbie would never marry him.  I loved creating costumes and togas for them out of handkerchiefs and scraps of material and costume jewelry from my mother's collection. 

I took this book out of the library so much that my name was practically the only one on the sign out card.  My love of mythology made me an expert among my peers and they were impressed that I could remember who everyone was and what their function was. 

Then one day I found D'aulaires' Book of Norse myths.  You can't even imagine how excited I was!  Another entire Pantheon of wonderful characters, beautiful pictures and remarkable yet sometimes heartbreaking stories. 

To this day, I love all mythology, from Greek to Native American to Celtic.  Through author Charles de Lint, I developed an interest in Native American mythology and even took a few courses on the subject.  I also became obsessed fascinated with British mythology including Arthurian legends and try to read everything I can find on the subject.  I find the threads that connect these stories to each other and to different  cultures fascinating and intriguing.

So, what are your favorite myths and/or mythological characters and why?  I would love to know!  

7 comments:

Savannah said...

I am most fascinated by Valkyries. I think that myth is cool. I love strong powerful women in books who kick butt. The power that they have is awesome and cool!

Angelique said...

I think Celtic mythology is fascinating. You KNOW I have been wanting to read more about it for a few months now (but there is NEVER enough time to read everything I want to =(
I will get around to it one day...sigh...

Midnyte Reader said...

Valkyries *are* cool Savvy. I would like to see some re-tellings of that myth.

Ang, I may have to make a list up.

Karen said...

My niece and nephew are really into Greek Mythology after reading the Percy Jackson series. It's interesting reading it all again but also seeing it from their perspective.

Jenny said...

Ahhh! That's one of my very favorite books too! I just adore Greek Mythology and can never get enough of it, Persephone and Hades are my favorites. I'm really excited that there seems to be a new phase of late where a lot of books (mostly YA) are featuring Greek mythology and it is just making me happy:)

Midnyte Reader said...

@Karen-Yes, I've talked to my nieces/nephews about it too. They love that I know what they're talking about.

@Jenny-Hades/Persephone myth is such an intricate one on so many levels!

xjd7410@gmail.com said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...