I credit Majel with my love of the Classics -- most notably, my love of Greek mythology. See, she had this book that she brought with her almost every time she babysat us. It was chock full of myths and stories starring the ancient Greek pantheon and its heroes. Like the fairy tales I so love(d), these stories were full of magic, adventure, and excitement. AND there were pictures! Most of all, my sister and I loved it when Majel read us the story of Perseus using the head of Medusa to rescue Andromeda from the giant sea turd. Yes, you read that right. This translation featured the sea "turd" (versus a sea monster or a kraken). The illustration was even of a lovely girl, terrified and chained to a wall, as a giant piece of shit with a face stalked her from behind. It was mesmerizing.
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| I FOUND IT!!! Majel read to us from D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths!! Look how it’s even tapered on the end in the background. Looks like shit to me! Is it wearing lipstick? |
Anyway...
The Greeks are so great. But you know whose stories are equally great? The Celts! I didn't grow up exposed to Celtic mythology in the same way, but I do have an innate love of leprechauns, Scottish wild cats, and the modern Celtic people, so I felt it was high time to explore that in a literary sense. Under the guise of "getting a present for my kids", I looked up anthologies of Celtic mythology for children and found this gem of a book.
Collected and curated by writer Christopher S. Pinard, these stories come to us from a variety of ancient and modern Celtic lands: Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Brittany (France). Pinard divides them into the following categories, making for a nice linear read: Mischief Makers and Monstrous Fakers, For Love Alone, Landscapes in Celtic Folklore, and Into the Wide and Wild World. Of course, each of the stories can be read as a stand alone, but I have a mind that operates at its finest in the concrete; I like organization. The end of a book features a Celtic glossary with definitions of some of the lesser known terms used throughout the book (i.e. hogney, Slievenamon, etin).
My personal favorite feature of this glossary is the pronunciation guide. As a linguist and eternal studier of languages, I like to learn words the right way. Take the character of Niamh, for instance -- the wife of Oisin and princess of the otherworld. I never would have guessed at these characters' actual names beyond "Nee-ahm" or "Oy-zin" but I'd have been profoundly off: Niamh (Neev) and Oisin (Oh-sheen).
So many of these Celtic stories remain little known to the general population (around me, at least), yet they influence much of the fantasy writing and literature that we know even today. It's impossible not to notice the parallels between the worlds of the elves and high kings and the populations of Tolkien's Middle Earth. Furthermore, we might also observe similarities between the Celtic connections to the natural world and the importance of nature in the stories of America's First Peoples. The lessons of many of the tales within this book ring true even today: Don't judge someone by their appearance. Be wise in your dealings with strangers. It is important to keep our promises. Jealousy can harm our relationships with others. In addition to these lessons, Pinard includes conversational questions to at the end of each story to aid the development of critical thinking in youngsters.
Between the stories themselves, their thematic arrangement, the glossary of terms, and the "Questions to Think About", this book is ideal for introducing children (and adults!) to Celtic mythology. Add to that the unique and vivid illustrations of artist Javier Olivares and you have a complete literary adventure to share with children...or the young at heart.
