Great Myths And Legends

Childcraft Annual #year 1984

by Childcraft International

Myths and legends are stories that have come down to us from the distant past. As you will discover, these are exciting tales of adventure, filled with sorcerers and witches, dragons and goblins, and all kinds of magic. Each is a story of good against evil.

All of these tales were told by storytellers long before they were written down. And they were told with a purpose. Myths are about gods and goddessess and superhuman being. They were generally told to explain a belief or something in nature. Legends are almost always based on something that actually happened. They were told to glorify someone who had performed great deeds or caused marvelous things to happen.

But most of all, these are tales of heroes and heroines, young and old. They have the qualities their people most admired--courage, wisdom, goodness, strength, self-sacrifice, gentleness, loyalty, generosity, honesty, and kindness.

Genres: Childrens, Short Stories, Fiction, Fantasy

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

“Character training, discipline guidance, and habit formation are processes in your child’s development that cause you serious concern. You want your child to develop habits and traits of character that are admirable and worthwhile—habits and traits that will ensure happiness and success in life.”

These are words of introduction from the inaugural 1934 Parent Guide Supplement to Childcraft, a 15-volume annual series launched as a home instructional and educational resource for parents. Childcraft remained a mainstay within American households over 7 decades, sold door-to-door, direct to parents.

Childcraft was succeeded by Discovery and Discovery Science. Discovery and Discovery Science are multivolume print and digital reference resources for elementary readers.

The iconic Childcraft brand remains in the public domain as an Annual Update to owners of an original Childcraft set and is displayed each year at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder’s meeting.

Reviews

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I should note that I haven't read this in about 8 years, so it might not be as great as I recall.

This book was in my school's library. At 10(-ish) I discovered it, and must have read through it 40 times at least. Great Myths & Legends introduced me to the Sampo, Finn MacCool, Beowulf (I think...), etc. It made the joy of rediscovering these myths when I was older all the sweeter as I had a faint, pleasant memory of most of them. The foundation was already laid. I could not love this book more.

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book for children and the adults reading with them!

[Mark Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful introduction to myths from a variety of cultures, it's art sticks with you. I grew up loving its telling of Beowulf, and enjoy being able to share it with my son and daughter.

[Casca Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only just remembered that this book exists; when I was a little kid, I re-read this probably once a month. I cannot think of any book that carries as much nostalgia for me as this one.

I can't remember every story it included off the top of my head, and I don't have my copy within reach, but I'll list the ones I recall:

*The Sampo, from the Kalevala, involving Lammenkainen and Vainamoinen battling Queen Louhi

*The legend of Sundiata

*Beowulf's conflicts with Grendel and the dragon

*A story involving Sir Caradoc

*Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

*A legend involving how seals came to exist

*Saint Martha and the Tarasque

*A story of two kids outsmarting a witch; not Hansel & Gretel, but a bit similar

*A story involving a man who could transform into a lion

*Theseus, Ariadne, and the Minotaur in the Labyrinth

I am certain that I have forgotten more of the stories than I have recalled here; I intend to track down my copy and read it again soon, to see how well the stories held up over time for an adult reader.