Atlas de mitos (Myth Atlas)

by Thiago de Moraes

Rare book

Genres: Mythology, Nonfiction, Childrens, History, Middle Grade, Reference, Picture Books

86 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2018

About the author

As a child, Thiago got told off constantly for doodling instead of paying attention. He still gets told off constantly, but not so much for the doodling, these days.

Thiago writes and illustrates all sorts of books, from picture books to fiction and non-fiction. The Zoomers’ Handbook (written with his wife Ana), was published in 2015 by Andersen Press. It was on the long list for the Klaus Flugge award and won the Sheffield Children’s Books Award in 2016.

Myth Atlas - a guide through 12 worlds of myth and legend - was published by Alison Green Books/Scholastic in September 2018 and has been translated to 16 languages so far.

He lives in London with his wife, children and pet tortoise, Nibbles, and is working on a bunch of new books and comics.

Reviews

[Knjigoholičarka]

Idealno štivo za radoznalo dete od 10 godina - ilustracije su čarobne, a tekstovi koji opisuju osnovne pojmove o 12 velikih svetskih mitologija duhoviti i interesantni.

I pored toga što sam se fino zabavila jedno popodne čitajući ovaj Atlas, ostaje misterija zašto su moji prijatelji smatrali da je ovo odgovarajući poklon za mene koja imam skoro 40 godina i kojoj je sve ovo uglavnom poznato. :D

[Rachel (Kalanadi)]

A beautiful book. Much of the content is vastly simplified for younger audiences. I would have loved this as a kid!

[Szuwarek]

Fajne historie w pigułce dla dzieci ale moim zdaniem nazbyt uproszczone + z tego co się orientuję mitologia słowiańska nie do końca zgodna z prawdą.

Nie rozumiem też dlaczego zdecydowano się tutaj zawrzeć religię rdzennych Amerykanów albo hinduizm skoro autor piszę że one "są dalej w użyciu". To tak jakby ktoś umieścił np. chrześcijaństwo, islam i buddyzm w atlasie mitów.

I możnaby sobie darować niektóre żarty.

[Helen]

This is a fascinating book for all ages! It tells about the myths of cultures around the world.

[Megan Farve]

This book was very informative. I gained a lot of ideas for my mythology program next summer. As a bonus, the author had some hilarious myth chapter titles.

[Meja Eklund]

Bra bok för den som vill lära sig om olika mytologier!

[Tania]

Ідеально підходить, аби коротко ознайомитися з 12 міфологіями світу. Пантеони богів зображені так, що буде цікаво дитині та дорослому. Краплинка гумору додає легкості описам. Основні міфи, або подорож мертвих в єгипетській міфології, допомагає краще зрозуміти, що ж то відбувалося раніше, коли для людей основним поясненням подій були боги та їх діяльність

Рекомендую, як мінімум через розширення знань та насолоду для очей)

[Ardyth]

I bought this on a whim recently, unseen except the cover, and am not sure how I feel about it!

There are twelve sections, each with a map illustrating the world as conceived in the mythos, with captions describing major figures of the pantheon (typically 20 - 30). This is followed by very abbreviated versions of some stories from the mythos, and the section closes by describing four "Creatures and Artifacts." Illustrations are muted color palette, which I very much like, and a bit cartoonish in style -- characters have disproportionately large heads. The appendix pronunciation guide is very helpful.

North America: Native American (composite), Aztec
South America: Yanomami
Africa: Yoruba, Egypt
Europe: Irish, Norse, Greek, Slavic
Asia: Hindu, Japanese
Oceania: Polynesia

The intro self-describes this book as "light-hearted" -- I guess one person's light-hearted is another person's glib, and I keep vacillating about which this is for me. The book is equal opportunity [choose your word], and maybe that's where I'm dissatisfied... snickering at the absurdity of the Greeks, whose positive works and advancements are well-known, is quite different from snickering at the Aztecs and Polynesians, whose are not. The latter feels like punching down?

There's also the issue that some of the myth systems contained here are still in active use as an understanding of the world. While I might agree that certain details are... goofy? baffling? ... I'm unconvinced "clever" humor about them is a great tone to present in a book for kids about beliefs people hold today. We can be courteous about each others' supernatural ideas without ascribing to them all, can't we? The Bible, for example, is very easy to snark on this way... but any person with half a heart (atheist or otherwise) finds that sort of behavior both tacky and unkind.

I'm also not super thrilled that there is a single section on "Native American myths," with a composite map -- this perpetuates the misconception of homogeneity across indigenous North American cultures. The creators tried to counter this by sharing one story each from multiple cultures, but the messaging of the map is stronger.

On the other hand, this light-hearted / glib highly visual presentation of Aztec mythos is helping me keep track of unfamiliar names while I read In the Language of Kings: An Anthology of Mesoamerican Literature, Pre-Columbian to the Present and The Mexico Reader: History, Culture, Politics. Will it do the same for Hindu and Japanese traditions when I focus on them, or will I be too frustrated by the tone?

[Jeff Lewonczyk]

An often delightful illustrated introduction to world mythology for young readers. The text is occasionally more flip than it needs to be, but the visualizations of the various worldviews are like clever, deity-filled infographics and very fun to pore over.

[CadavreVulgaire]

Tohle bude jeden z titulů povinné literatury mých dětí.

[Sarah I]

Great introduction to mythology from all over the world. Some of the entries were a little silly, but it is designed for children after all. I wish I could have had a book like this as a kid!

[Monika]

Ocena 5⭐️
Format papier

Absolutny hit! Jestem zachwycona tym tytułem, pięknie wydany, cudowne ilustracje, fantastyczna treść. Dawno nie widziałam tak ciekawie zrobionej książki dla dzieci.

[Maria Mhemnoch]

Genial iniciación a la mitología para niños y jóvenes. Además con una estructura fija muy bien organizada.
Para los que ya son adictos a la mitología, no encontraran mucho nuevo, pero lo bueno es que viene un pequeño resumen de muchas mitologías diferentes(no sólo las típicas griegas, romana, egipcia...).
Por eso es por lo que me parece estupendo, porque al hacer ese repaso "por encimilla" de cada lugar, los más curiosos ya pueden elegir sus personajes o mundos favoritos y ya ahondar en ellos e ir tirando del hilo para ir conociendo más.
Las ilustraciones muy graciosas, así como la forma de narrar, osa que también es un plus, ya que es bien conocida la crudeza de estas historias, siempre le pone un guiño para que no suene tan "fuerte" un asesinato o incesto entre dioses jejeje.
Es un regalo para mi sobrina, que hoy cumple 12 años y le encanta leer, pero quería leerlo yo antes para ver si podría ser de su agrado, y creo que sí, y que la va a adentrar en futuras lecturas mitológicas más profundas.

[Nadia]

З дітьми прочитали.Молодша тепер перемальовує всякких почвар з книжки )))

[Ola]

Jak ja uwielbiam mity!!!🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶

[Sadie Hall]

So fascinating!!! My son keeps borrowing it from the library once a month so I've gotten to read it bit by bit.

[Sara Tiede]

Delightful intro into a nicely varied number of mythologies. Fun, detailed illustrations that really drew the eye around the page. I enjoyed the set up for each section showing a world overview as described by that mythology, followed by a few selected stories. Excellent intro for young readers! In fact, my daughter looked over my shoulder writing this and was disappointed I didn't give it five stars, which is her review. I simply reserve my five star ratings for personal favorites, and since I would generally choose a more in depth book if reading at my "age level", this one was fun, but not quite an instant favorite. Great read for all ages, though!

[Oznasia]

A spectacular introduction to the mythology of the world for kids. (Adults should enjoy it too.) Now let's face it there are many cultures on this planet and they all have their myths and legends. (Some still insist that theirs are true.) Rather than try to include all cultures Thiago de Moraes has chosen twelve cultures and gives a broad representation of the many stories which have guided the lives of their people. I think most kids will enjoy this and hopefully many will search for more myths and legends to learn even more.

[Tin Cheung]

This was such a neat book with a unique approach to presenting myths from across the world. Each section starts with a "map" of important mythical figures from the different cultures with quick facts. Then it dives in with featuring some myths and legends.

Fun presentation and beautifully organized.

[Evelyn]

Nice artwork. Good intro to different mythologies. I liked the Irish and the Norse sections best. All of indigenous North American mythology got 1 section. The atlas page clearly labeled each character with their culture but it couldn't tell an interwoven story. Same for Polynesian mythology.

[Lucy Lillianne]

http://lucy-lillianne.blogspot.com/20...

[Irune]

3.5

[Guillermo Martínez]

Bonito y pedagógico libro sobre mitos, dioses/as, monstruos y artefactos. Para jóvenes y no tan jóvenes.

[Paul]

I review this book somewhat in a wrap-up video from March of 2019: https://youtu.be/zQsXPk2R9Mk

[Shani]

Beautiful art and great summaries of different mythology. There's good representations and explanations for each culture and the origin of the myths!

[Nupur]

Such a cool, fun, informative book!

[Vera Verkooijen]

Love it.

[Maria]

Interesting book with very nice artwork. However, even though it is for younger people, I think the quality of the descriptions, summaries and stories could be improved.

[Shakyra White]

The book is beautifully done. The illustrations are great. Very interesting and engaging information. I enjoyed it.

[Bonnie]

A delightful overview of world mythology!