Myths That Every Child Should Know: A Selection of the Classic Myths of all Times For Young People.

by Hamilton Wright Mabie (Editor), Various

“Sixteen myth-stories which belong to the world’s literature and appeal to the young imagination. Hawthorne’s ‘Wonder-book’ and ‘Tanglewood Tales’ furnish half the material…Charles Kingsley’s ‘Greek Heroes,’ Mr. Brown’s ‘In the Days of the Giants,’ Mr. A. J. Church’s ‘Stories From Homer,” Mr. Mable’s ‘Norse Stories,’ and Miss Emerson’s ‘Indian Myths’ are the other sources. Mr. Mable furnishes an introduction.” -The Cumulative Book Review Digest, Volume 1, 1905
“The sun, which vanquished the darkness, put out the stars, drove the cold to the far north, called back the flowers, made the fields fertile, awoke men from sleep and filled them with courage and hope, was the centre of mythology, and appears and reappears in a thousand stories in many parts of the world, and in all kinds of disguises. Now he is the most beautiful and noble of the Greek gods, Apollo; now he is Odin, with a single eye; now he is Hercules, the hero, with his twelve great labours for the good of men; now he is Oedipus, who met the Sphinx and solved her riddle. In the early times men saw how everything in the world about them drew its strength and beauty from the sun; how the sun warmed the earth and made the crops grow; how it brought gladness and hope and inspiration to men; and they made it the centre of the great world story, the foremost hero of the great world play. For the myths form a poetical explanation of the earth, the sea, the sky, and of the life of man in this wonderful universe, and each great myth was a chapter in a story which endowed day and night, summer and winter, sun, moon, stars, winds, clouds, fire, with life, and made them actors in the mysterious drama of the world. Our Norse forefathers thought of themselves always as looking on at a terrible fight between the gods, who were light and heat and fruitfulness, revealed in the beauty of day and the splendour of summer, and the giants, who were darkness, cold and barrenness, revealed in the gloom of night and the desolation of winter. To the Norseman, as to the Greek, the Roman, the Hindu and other primitive peoples, the world was the scene of a great struggle, the stage on which gods, demons, and heroes were contending for supremacy; and they told that story in a thousand different ways. Every myth is a chapter in that story, and differs from other stories and legends because it is an explanation of something that happened in earth, sea, or sky.” -Hamilton Wright Mabie
INTRODUCTION
THE THREE GOLDEN APPLES - (Hawthorne's "Wonder Book")
THE POMEGRANATE SEEDS - (Hawthorne's "Tanglewood Tales")
THE CHIMÆRA - (Hawthorne's "Wonder Book")
THE GOLDEN TOUCH - (Hawthorne's "Wonder Book")
THE GORGON'S HEAD - (Hawthorne's "Wonder Book")
THE DRAGON'S TEETH - (Hawthorne's "Tanglewood Tales")
THE MIRACULOUS PITCHER - (Hawthorne's "Wonder Book")
THE PARADISE OF CHILDREN - (Hawthorne's "Wonder Book")
THE CYCLOPS - (Church's "Stories from Homer")
THE ARGONAUTS - (Kingsley's "Greek Heroes")
THE GIANT BUILDER - ("In Days of Giants")
HOW ODIN LOST HIS EYE - ("In Days of Giants")
THE QUEST OF THE HAMMER - ("In Days of Giants")
THE APPLES OF IDUN - ("In Days of Giants")
THE DEATH OF BALDER - ("Norse Stories")
THE STAR AND THE LILY - (Miss Emerson's "Indian Myths")

Genres: Classics, Mythology, Fiction, Childrens, Fairy Tales, Short Stories, Fantasy

370 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1905

About the author

Hamilton Wright Mabie, A.M., L.H.D., LL.D. (1846–1916) was an American essayist, editor, critic, and lecturer.

Reviews

[Seamaiden · Rating 3 out of 5]

More than two thirds of the book are Greek myths that I was taught at school or read at home when I was a kid. Some of them were given as the Roman version of them but still I enjoyed them. I also loved the myths about Odin, Thor and Loki, even though I didn't like Loki.

I enjoyed reading the myths. The names of the places confused me some times because some of them are different from the Greek ones but I still enjoyed the myths.

[Dustin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Are you tired of getting bored of books or not being able to finish them because they are too long? Well this is the perfect book for you, it consists of ten different stories based on greek mythology. Stories like The Chimera, The Argonauts, and many more.

This book is a total of 10 ten stories based on greek mythology. So far my favorite is The Chimera which is a great story that takes place in the countryside of Lycia, Anatolia. Bellerophon the main character is strongly devoted to slaying a beast with the head of a lion, with the body and head of a lion, a goat's head rising from its back, the udders of a goat, and a serpent for a tail. He makes a bond with a small boy that loves to play in the Fountain of Pirene to find a pegasus which is a white and silver horse with wings.

This book is a good book if you're not interested in reading a lengthy book. Each story is fairly fast paced making this a good book to binge read. This book truly takes you on a journey beyond this world as is shown in The Chimera: “The went on long aerial journeys, and sometimes ascended so high that the earth looked hardly bigger than--the moon. They visited distant countries, and amazed the inhabitants…” If you want to travel on this journey read Myths Every Child Should Know.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've decided to do a short stint in fairylands, and then move on to some special projects. I've got 3 on my mind, maybe 4. We'll see.
This was mainly Greek, Roman, and some Norse myths, which as (I think) we all know have been translated in very different ways in the centuries since they were told/invented. It's always interesting to hearing the little differences to me. I also liked that I could complete an entire "story" each chapter. It's helping me get back into reading after the bad taste of a former book.
Would I say this book is "necessary" as the cover would have you think? No. But I do think there are many lessons to be learned from myths and fables, and I think everyone should read those of other cultures and times to gain wisdom from all over. I was raised globally and I still think and live globally, even as I plant my feet in the Fort Worth soil.
8/10 recommend, put it on while you're cleaning or doing something mundane and you'll be quite content to hear the stories!

[Mario · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of terrible, in all honesty. This is exactly what it sounds like: classic myths, largely Greek, rewritten to (more or less) remove the dirty parts. It's fine for that, but you would also expect the stories to be cleaned up otherwise; not just edited for content but with some sort of moral emphasized for the young reader. That does not happen. You might also expect the stories to be trimmed down to a short, coherent narrative. That also does not happen (Jason and the Argonauts being the most egregious example here). You can feel the author's attention span wane as the stories go on, the first couple received the most attention, the last were thrown in without much thought. There is nothing here that can't be found in a superior form somewhere else.

[Dotty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Myths Every Child Should Know:A selection of The Classic Myths of All Time by Hamilton Wright Mabie editor.

This was first published in 1915. The writing is typical of that time and would be read by parents or young teen of that time. The stories are also "cleaned up" and include Roman, Greek and Norse myths.

However, today it would be considered too long, wordy with many words children would not know. It would not hold the interest of children today. Many have seen the movies (Jason and the Argonauts, Clash of The Titans, Hercules, Thor, etc). I found the stories a bit boring. Look for stories and collections published today.

[Caro · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book. I enjoyed the myths and reading some different versions to some of the stories. This is definitely for the younger crowd and not as dark as some of the others I have read. Great for passing time or something to read on a lazy day. Enjoy

[Jordan Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this feebie

I learned a lot about mythology along with the writing styles used to depict these stories. It's easy to see how these tales have been able to stand the test of time. Anyone interested in mythology would enjoy this book.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure every child should know. Just classic stories. If interested in mythological stories or to know what the true origin of some of the different stories are you here, then you may enjoy this

[Theodora Cam R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stories

The myths were definitely ones that everyone should know. The narration is what you’d expect from a Victorian British man.

[Lucy B. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not my kind of book could not finish it

[Sophia Sulimirski · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 - Book 7 in my classic collection. More like a mix of Greek, Roman, and Norse myths. Jason and the Golden Fleece was half the book and was good but would’ve preferred more shorter stories.

[Sajjad A. Mohammadi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another audio book that I enjoyed listening to, in my long trips. Although it is written for every child to know but I as a youth felt like a child listening to all the epic adventures and missions undertaken by the famous legendary heroes of the ancient Greece depicted in The Iliad and The Odyssey of Homer.
What's interesting was that a few chapters at the end of the book included the Norse myths that i did not expect to be there.

[Shelley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this very boring, and the myths I though were going to be familar (such as Pandora's Box) were not at all. I don't know if the author was taking liberties with the myths or just making stuff up out of whole cloth, but I was very dissapointed with this book and I'm surprised it has a 4 star rating. I got about 1/2 way through and then just...could not finish.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice retelling of some classic tales, most of which I had read before. The stories are a good overview of mythology for young people. Those in their early teens who wish to know more of a particular story can find fuller and more traditional accounts, but this book seems and apt introduction for them.

[Amelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the title suggests it is a collection of the basic myths in Greek and Norse mythology which every child should know. It's a good book to read every once and a while. Reading it straight through would be sort of burdensome.

[T · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not what I expected

I expected this to be more short stories of other myths.. wasn't what I expected at all. Still good if you're into those older stories. only gets this rating because I believed it to be something other than it actually is.

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this on the Kindle app of my Blackberry, and it's just occurred to me that the downside to that is that I can't pass this one on to my niece. Really enjoyed these.

[Stinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great highlights of the Greek and Norse myths! My 9 y.o. son and I enjoyed reading it together for bedtime stories.

[Collin Hunter · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dumb

bad bad I hate it so much I hate it
I hate it I hate it I hate it so much
I know it's made up lives

[Maryalice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this mostly to see if I had read the myths I should have read as a child. Yep except the norwigen myths. It was good to revisit them.

[Nat ☽ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got about a 1/3 of the way through then paused my audible membership so the book wasn't free anymore haha. BUT what I did hear of it was interesting!