P -- Prometheus: I liked how he saved other people and risked his own life just to warm up the humans by stealing fire from the hearth in the throne room. It was not such a good idea, but it was smart to keep people alive longer. I don't think he is one of those people who kills things just to stay alive, but someone who risks his life to save others. He was a cool guy. J -- Jason: He's the husband of Medea. I love how he gets all the fierce men to come on his boat. That was very smart when he did that, but it was unsmart when he got rid of Heracles. For any child fortunate enough to have this generous book . . . the kings and heroes of ancient legend will remain forever matter-of-fact; the pictures interpret the text literally and are full of detail and witty observation.”— The Horn Book

The bigger problem is that there is no pronunciation guide. Pronunciation of Greek names, since they in some cases came into English through the digestive tracts of Latin and Old French before landing in England in 1066, and in some cases are more modern borrowings, is wholly unpredictable by, well, any English speaker, let alone children. It is perhaps a shame that the popular culture doesn't make allusions to Hephaestus, Mnemosyne, Terpsichore, Dionysus, and Aeneas as an everyday matter, but the fact is it doesn't, and it's a shame to leave little kids at sea (like Perseus?). But at the same time, their characters comes across as a real people. There’s no cherry tree story in George Washington; Columbus gets petty and angry. Lincoln continues to sit on the floor to read his books, even after Mary Todd tell him those are wilderness manners, not city manners. As much as the D’Aulaires are telling stories about these almost unreal men, the founding fathers also seem more fully drawn than usual. There are details in these stories that, as many times as I’ve been told the stories of these men, I’d never heard before. Their research process was possibly even more arduous. They would spend hundreds of hours reading, traveling and sketching before they even started writing or creating their illustrations. When they wrote about Christopher Columbus, they traveled through Italy, Spain and Portugal to see the places he had lived and toured the Caribbean islands he landed on when he crossed the ocean. While researching Lincoln, they sketched dozens of the faces they found in old photographs at the Springfield library and used them to fill in the crowds of people in their drawings. Earlier in their career as creators of children’s books, the D’Aulaires wrote about a different set of myths—of the American variety. Most of their first books were set in Scandinavia, where Ingri D’Aulaire grew up, but soon they moved their focus across the Atlantic, to their new home. In 1936, they wrote a biography of George Washington and in 1939 one of Abraham Lincoln, for which they won the Caldecott Medal. They would write about Pocahontas, Benjamin Franklin, Buffalo Bill, and Christopher Columbus, all before they wrote anything about Greek myths.In print for over fifty years, D'Aulaires Book of Greek Mythshas introduced generations to Greek mythology—and continues to enthrall young readers. I doubt I would have grown up to be the writer and artist I became had I not fallen in love with D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Mythsat the age of seven.”—R. J. Palacio, author of Wonder.

I devoured D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths in what was then record time, and within days I was debating my father on theology. I demanded to know why I couldn't worship Zeus instead of his God; I wanted to know why, if the Greek Gods came first, they had a flood, Heracles was resurrected, and Phrixus was saved from being sacrificed by his father by the presence of a golden ram, amongst other things. I wanted to know how Christianity could have such similar myths. This book looks like a simple re-telling of ancient Greek mythology. And yes, it is that. But what makes this such a treasure is the way they put it together. There is a thread, much as the Fates spun theirs for humans. For example, when the chapter on Theseus concludes, the next chapter starts with the tale of Oedipus meeting Theseus. Thus, we learn the tale of Oedipus. I doubt I would have grown up to be the writer and artist I became had I not fallen in love with D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Mythsat the age of seven.”—R. J. Palacio, author of Wonder In print for over fifty years, D’Aulaires Book of Greek Mythshas introduced generations to Greek mythology—and continues to enthrall young readers. The English ABCs of D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths (with two Ms and some subtractions) by Miloš & Brontë:Book Genre: Childrens, Classics, Cultural, Fantasy, Fiction, Greece, Greek Mythology, Mythology, Picture Books, Religion, Young Adult This classic introduction to Greek mythology for children, written and illustrated by the husband-wife team, is divided into three main sections. The first covers the beginnings of the world and the stories of the Olympian gods and goddesses; the second is devoted to the minor gods, nymphs, satyrs, and centaurs; and the third relates the tales of the human heroes of epic and play.