Share the wonder of the stars with this delightful storybook collection featuring constellation myths from around the world. For thousands of years people have looked up to the night sky and told stories about the stars. These epic tales tell of vengeful gods and goddesses, of monsters and heroes. Others try to make sense of the natural world, or unravel the mysterious forces of the universe. This stunning book brings together 23 of these legends from all over the world: from Ancient Greece to North America, Egypt, China, India, and the South Pacific. Written by award-winning author Anita Ganeri and with beautifully detailed artwork by illustrator Andy Wilx, this is a magical book to be treasured for generations to come.
Follow an epic animal race, a quest for a disembodied hand, and an emu egg hunt in constellation stories from diverse cultures We can see love, betrayal, and friendship in the heavens, if we know where to look. A world expert on cultural understandings of cosmology, Anthony Aveni provides an unconventional atlas of the night sky, introducing readers to tales beloved for generations. The constellations included are not only your typical Greek and Roman myths, but star patterns conceived by a host of cultures, non-Western and indigenous, ancient and contemporary. The sky has long served as a template for telling stories about the meaning of life. People have looked for likenesses between the domains of heaven and earth to help marry the unfamiliar above to the quotidian below. Perfect reading for all sky watchers and storytellers, this book is an essential complement to Western mythologies, showing how the confluence of the natural world and culture of heavenly observers can produce a variety of tales about the shapes in the sky.
"View the night sky through an Indigenous perspective with this collection of Ininew (Cree) constellations and mythologies. These stories present a brief glimpse of the knowledge held by Indigenous people prior to first contact. Fly inside the Milky Way with Niska (the Goose). Chase Mista Muskwa (the Great Bear) along with Tepahkoop Pinesisuk (the Seven Birds). Above all else, pass these stories on to the next generation, so they will know the rich history, science and culture of the Ininew people."--
If you go outside on a clear night, you can't help yourself. Your head tilts back, your eyes rise up, and you find yourself gazing at the stars . . . WOW! From the beginning of time, people have admired the night sky's beauty. The night sky is our oldest picture book, and Wishing on a Star retells some of these stories from around the world in simple language that kids can understand. Wishing on a Star also includes lots of fun activities that celebrate the stars. Learn how to make a twinkling thaumatrope, fly a starry kite, and act in your own constellation play. Star maps and stargazing tips show how to find the constellations, and cool science facts teach more about the stars.
“Skillfully guides us around the awesome night sky through the imagination of different peoples around the world, past and present. A wonderful treasury.” —Jacqueline Mitton, author of Zoo in the Sky Most of us can recall searching the clouds as children for recognizable shapes and pictures. Similarly, since the dawn of humankind, the night sky has been filled with countless points of light that beckon gazers to connect the dots. We can see love, betrayal, and friendship in the heavens, if we know where to look. A world expert on cultural understandings of cosmology, Anthony Aveni provides an unconventional atlas of the night sky, introducing tales beloved for generations. The constellations included are not only your typical Greek and Roman myths, but star patterns conceived by a host of cultures, non-Western and indigenous, ancient and contemporary. Follow an epic animal race, a quest for a disembodied hand, and an emu egg hunt in these constellation stories from diverse cultures. The sky has long served as a template for telling stories about the meaning of life. People have looked for likenesses between the domains of heaven and earth to help marry the unfamiliar above to the quotidian below. Perfect for all sky watchers and storytellers, this book is an essential complement to Western mythologies, showing how the confluence of the natural world and culture of heavenly observers can produce a variety of tales about the shapes in the sky. Praise for Anthony Aveni “A pioneering cultural astronomer.” —Publishers Weekly “He writes with a mastery and polish that is wonderfully accessible, akin to an engaging classroom lecture.” —The New York Times Book Review
The Goodman's Five-Star Stories series is a collection of high-interest anthologies on 10 reading levels featuring well-known short stories from around the world. The selections provide hours of reading pleasure while improving reading and literature skills.
This collection of three lush and adventurous stories in "New York Times"-bestselling author Chockshi's Star-Touched World also includes an extended excerpt of "The Gilded Wolves."
There once was a boy... and the boy loved stars very much... 'How to Catch a Star' is a firm favourite with picture book readers, critics and booksellers alike. The beautiful illustrations and enchanting story have won the hearts of children all over the world and was a dazzling debut for picture book star, Oliver Jeffers.Now made available for the first time in a toddler friendly board format, the youngest generation can enjoy this unforgettable story about friendship.
A boy who feels persecuted by the banality of everyday life yearns to ascend to the cold and majestic plane of the stars. A seamstress finds liberation of a sort in "becoming" a dog and howling at the moon. A club of young girls masquerade as the grieving fiancées of strange men. This book brings together these and other remarkable short stories by the Russian Symbolist Fyodor Sologub that explore the lengths to which people will go to transcend the mundane. Renowned as one of late imperial Russia's finest stylists, Sologub bridges the great nineteenth-century novel and the fin-de-siècle avant-garde. He stands out for his masterful command of both realist and fantastic storytelling; his play with language evinces a belief in its capacity to access other worlds and other levels of meaning. Many of Sologub's stories are set among children whose alienation from the adult world has lent them imagination and curiosity, enabling them to create an alternative reality. At the same time, he bluntly examines the sordid realities of late imperial Russian society and frankly presents sometimes unconventional sexuality. The book also features a selection of Sologub's "little fairy tales," ambiguous parables couched in childlike language whose ingenuity anticipates the miniatures and "incidents" of Daniil Kharms. Susanne Fusso's elegant translation offers these artful tales to an English-speaking audience.
