Snake Hair (Spinner)

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Description: Snake Hair (Spinner)

Genre: Mythology, Greek; Legends, Myths, and Fables - Greek and Roman; Juvenile Fiction; Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction; Readers - Beginner; Children: Grades 1-2; Perseus (Greek mythology); Medusa (Greek mythology); Juvenile Fiction / Legends, Myths, Fables / General; Classical mythology; Legends, Myths, and Fables - General; Juvenile literature;

Average Review: 5 stars

Review: Medusa's in It, but the Story is more About Perseus - a review of "Snake Hair": I had the chance to read this book to a small group of girls (sorry no boys in my group today) in my daughter's first grade class and they were absolutely agog over it. Normally they chat and talk and fidget, like six y.o.'s will do, while they take turns doing their book reports. But when I was showing them the pictures and reading the story there was dead silence and open mouths. They simply loved it, and I don't know of a better testimonial. Now lest you think this is kiddy 'chic lit', my four y.o. son likes it as well. And one of the reasons for this is that the book is just as much about Perseus as it is Medusa. [Medusa obviously had a better press agent and, of course, makes for an intriguing cover.] In fact though, we leave the unfortunate former-beauty on page 11 and don't take up with her until some pages later. Instead, we become involved with our hero, Perseus, who we find in the company of a very naughty king who wants him gone and done away with. To accomplish this, the king asks Perseus to kill Medusa. [Note to moms, dads, and other caregivers: murder is a frequent theme in this book.] Being clueless as to the king's real intent, Perseus agrees. But not being a knucklehead, Perseus goes and asks the gods for help. [Another note to adults: young children may ask what this multiple god business is all about, so you might want to have an explanation ready.] Hermes (Mercury for you Romanists) gives him a nifty pair of winged sandals, and Athena gives him a shield which is shiny like a mirror. (Athena really had it out for Medusa, didn't she?!) There is actual drama in this little book. And it is fun to read. I stopped and asked my children what they thought Perseus would do. How would he use the shield? How would he slay the sea monster? (If you don't remember, he ran across Andromeda who was about to be eaten.) Five Stars. Great Read-aloud. Great artwork. Good introduction to ancient literature for young folk. Both my children enjoyed it: The book has fairly simple text, if you ignore the names of the characters, but there is a lot of it. 48 pages. Non-graphic violence. Medusa looses her head, and some people and creatures are turned to stone.