Where would we be without stories? In fact, where do stories come from? What tales enthralled our ancestors and in some ways shaped our civilisation as we know it today?
Dan Green and David Lyttleton take a tongue-in-cheek look at many myths and legends in a fun and amusing way in "Legendary", scouring the globe for a brace of fantastic tales - some of which you'll be familiar with and some you won't.
Stretching from Ancient Greece and Rome, down through Africa to tap Egyptian chronicles, across to India and China and beyond, "Legendary" brings classic myths to life with Dan's trademark humour and David's fantastic character art.
We dived headlong into this book with glee, making a bee line for the Greek myths and legends and of course the story of Perseus and Medusa, reproduced with great humour as you can see below...
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| Oh Polydectes, you are a card! |
Children love history when it's injected with a good dose of humour (Horrible Histories proves that you can take even the driest subjects and jazz them up for young audiences). That's not to say that ancient legends are in any way dry, I mean you really wouldn't want to meet Medusa on a dark night when you've forgotten your hand mirror...
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| "She's behinnnnnnnd you!" |
Her sisters aren't much better either...Ugh!
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| Eye eye! What's going on here? Tell the tooth! |
Obviously this was our favourite of the collected stories in this fantastic weighty tome that is packed with more fabulous tales than you can shake a gorgon's head at. Look out for the story of Rama and Sita, the nefarious Baba Yaga and even a guest appearance from a giant wooden horse!
Utterly, utterly fabulous. The stuff of legends in fact!
Charlotte's favourite bit: Some top tips on how to defeat a Gorgon (oh and be careful not to drip any blood anywhere if you don't like slithery snakes. Ew!)
Daddy's favourite bit: An utterly glorious collection of myths and legends from across the globe, ensuring that fantastic stories don't die out and find an entirely new appreciative audience. Fab humour, brilliant illustrations, just totally brilliant really!
(Kindly sent to us for review by Bonnier / Weldon Owen)
"Legendary"
Written by Dan Green
Illustrated by David Lyttleton
Published by Weldon Owen
Publication Date: 1st October 2015