When I first heard about the Magical Myths and Legends book I immediately asked if we could review it. Two reasons really, firstly Michael Morpurgo – really that is enough for us. We are HUGE fans of his work and he selected the stories to go into this book. And secondly we seem to be circling around Myths at the moment. Without much planning we just seem to be reading and learning about them throughout our other learning activities. Greek/ Roman and Norse Myths just seem to come up over and over again so any quality book containing some good Myths is going to interest us. Oh and thirdly (yes I know I said two reason but I forgot about the third one), I knew the book included a version of the Legend of Robin Hood and my son recently read a version which totally put him off the story but I really think if we found a good version he would enjoy it.
Now I must also admit something I was really looking forward to receiving this book but when it arrived I was blown over by how nice it looks. Yes I know we are not supposed to judge a book by its cover but in this case the cover and the inside pages are just soo stunning, the colours, the glossy pages, it really impressed me and I immediately thought this would make a stunning present. A Really Stunning Present.
The Stories are simple versions, very child-friendly and a great way to introduce some of the classic Myths and Legends. Before each story starts they have included a little introduction about it – which I really liked.
Age wise – My 7-year-old loved them and happily sat and read story after story.
My ten-year old also enjoyed them, she does normally read more complex stories but there were a few Myths in here which she had never read before (I think due to some apprehension about the stories) so reading these versions, was a good way of introducing her to them without a scaring her.
The stories that they have included are the following –
- Mulan
- Icarus
- Finn MacCool and the Giant’s Causeway
- The Giant of Mont Saint-Michel
- The Lambton Worm
- The Legend of Robin Hood
- Thor and the Stolen Hammer
- Vulcan and the Fabulous Throne
- Hercules the Hero
- Gawain and the Green Knight
They are well-told with language that suits the kids and the illustrations are stunning (and in places a bit funny).
Both my kids and I recommend this book. We think it is a real gem of magical stories that is sure to capture many other children’s imagination.
You can get a copy of this stunning book from Amazon Magical Myths and Legends
As I mentioned above we were given this copy of the book. All opinions expressed are mine and that of the two little reading testers of the house.
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