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A review by michellewatson
A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys by Nathaniel Hawthorne
5.0
Our last read-aloud of the school year, and perhaps the best?! First off, this is by the same Nathaniel Hawthorne who wrote The Scarlett Letter, one of my least favorite classics of all time. But THIS book was delightful!
It's a collection of six Greek myths retold within a frame. The frame takes the form of a wealthy, established American family, full of children who are lucky enough to possess an educated cousin named Eustace Bright, who always tells the best stories. Eustace is away at college, but every season (fall, winter, spring, and summer) he returns home, where he rambles over hill and dale with the children and tells them Greek myths, reclothed in his own Gothic literary style.
Since the myths are supposed to be coming out of Eustace's mouth, they are pitch-perfect read-alouds. The language is elevated, lush, and complex—definitely a little much for my 5-year-old, and I did have to stop and explain a lot. But he and his brother were perfectly able to follow the thread of the storyline, and they really liked each one, especially those with monsters like the chimera.
When I read aloud to my boys, I omitted the frame sections, where the cousins beg Eustace to tell them a story and he agrees. I thought these would be tedious for them, but I read them to myself, and they were actually the most interesting bits for me.
In one of the frames, Eustace is summoned to tell one of his stories in the presence of his classically educated uncle, who basically says, "I liked your story well enough, but it's an abomination. You took too many liberties with the canon." Eustace defends himself by saying something like, "These stories belong to humanity, not to Homer or Ovid. I've just as much right to reimagine them as anyone." Well played, Eustace.
Hawthorne even writes himself into the very last few paragraphs, which brought a smile to my face.
Our library copy contains full-color illustrations by the incomparable Arthur Rackham. I only wish they were larger so I could see the details better.
It's a collection of six Greek myths retold within a frame. The frame takes the form of a wealthy, established American family, full of children who are lucky enough to possess an educated cousin named Eustace Bright, who always tells the best stories. Eustace is away at college, but every season (fall, winter, spring, and summer) he returns home, where he rambles over hill and dale with the children and tells them Greek myths, reclothed in his own Gothic literary style.
Since the myths are supposed to be coming out of Eustace's mouth, they are pitch-perfect read-alouds. The language is elevated, lush, and complex—definitely a little much for my 5-year-old, and I did have to stop and explain a lot. But he and his brother were perfectly able to follow the thread of the storyline, and they really liked each one, especially those with monsters like the chimera.
When I read aloud to my boys, I omitted the frame sections, where the cousins beg Eustace to tell them a story and he agrees. I thought these would be tedious for them, but I read them to myself, and they were actually the most interesting bits for me.
In one of the frames, Eustace is summoned to tell one of his stories in the presence of his classically educated uncle, who basically says, "I liked your story well enough, but it's an abomination. You took too many liberties with the canon." Eustace defends himself by saying something like, "These stories belong to humanity, not to Homer or Ovid. I've just as much right to reimagine them as anyone." Well played, Eustace.
Hawthorne even writes himself into the very last few paragraphs, which brought a smile to my face.
Our library copy contains full-color illustrations by the incomparable Arthur Rackham. I only wish they were larger so I could see the details better.