Gods and Goddesses of Olympus FROM THE PUBLISHER
Long, long ago in ancient Greece, people began telling wonderful stories to explain the mysteries of life. These myths featured gods and goddesses, mighty beings who look human but have amazing powers and live forever. Now you can meet these extraordinary characters and hear their legends, brought to life again by Aliki in this splendid, panoramic look at the amazing stories and characters of Greek legend. "[Will meet the] demand for basic information on the gods and goddesses at the primary level."—BL. "Aliki's fans will welcome her introduction to these famous Greeks."—SLJ.
1994 "Pick of the Lists" (ABA)
Author Biography:
Aliki grew up in Philadelphia in a very Greek family. Her talent for drawing, first recognized by her kindergarten teacher, was encouraged by her parents and other teachers she will never forget.
After graduating from the Philadelphia College of Art, she started a career in advertising art. She married Franz Brandenberg and lived in Switzerland for three years, where she wrote and illustrated her first book, The Story of William Tell.
After they moved to New York, she wrote My Five Senses, the book that changed her career and her life. Besides her own books, Aliki has illustrated many by other authors, including Franz. Their children, Jason and Alexa, who have artistic careers of their own, appear in many of Aliki's books as cats, mice, or themselves.
Aliki loves music, theater, films, museums, reading, and digging in her garden in London, where she lives. She travels frequently to the United States, Greece, Switzerland, and other countries, many of which are reflected in her books.NOTES FROM ALIKI
0nce, when I was reading one ofmy books to Jason, who was just learning words, I asked him, "What is my name?" He said, "Byaliki." I laughed. But in many ways I am a bi-Aliki. Greek and American. Bilingual. Author and illustrator. Writer of fiction and nonfiction-books that come from inside out (feeling books), and outside in (research books).
I had no thought of becoming a writer until it happened. But early on, I developed a lifelong habit of writing down my feelings. I realized it helped me understand my hurt, anger, bewilderment, or happiness. Words flowed out into poetry, letters, and journals. It was practice for later on.
I wrote The Two of Them when my father died. I wrote We Are Best friends when we moved from New York to London. I wrote about my childhood seaside vacations in Those Summers. In fact, it was on one such family vacation that I was born unexpectedly (in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey-but we never lived there)!
Marianthe's Story, two books in one volume, is very much my own. In one of its two parts-Painted Words-Mari is lucky to have such an understanding teacher and the ability to express herself through pictures (as was 1). In Spoken Memories, the villagers are composites of family and friends, and the voice is often my grandmother's. She cared passionately about education and passed it on to us.
All by Myself! — snapped after watching my nephew Peter, who was just learning to dress himself We can take nothing for granted. All skills-from the simplest to the most complicated-are learned. They take patience, perseverance, and determination. With some, a little talent helps. Life is one big challenge. I'm still trying to learn to swim.
My research books come from a fascination with a subject I know only a glimmer about. It can take three years to read, delve, dig, write, and repeat the process for the illustrations. It can be torture, because Virgos dont like to make mistakes.
To write My Visit to the Aquarium, I visited eleven aquariums-the most fun research ever. But then I had to get the right fish into the right tank. My Visit to the Zoo was even harder. Nine zoos, hundreds of books, magazines, and related matter. And with all due respect to the author, the illustrator has twice the work. I call it hard fun.
All books-read or made-change lives. None more than William Shakespeare & the Globe. I was challenged by wanting to compress 40.0 years into 38 pages, to tell (in words and pictures) a story that comes full circle. It didn't help that we- know very little about Shakespeare the man. But I was enveloped by his words — which brought him to life. When I finally finished, the pain of loss-which lasted months-was like parting from a beloved friend.
FROM THE CRITICS
Childhood Education
A lively genealogy of the Greek deities.
Children's Literature - Judy Silverman
Aliki tells the stories of how the Greek gods began. Zeus, whom we may have thought was the first god, wasn't. Uranus, the heavens, and Gaea, the earth, had many sons and daughters. The tale of how Uranus was overthrown by one of his sons, who was then overthrown by one of his sons, is fascinating. The fierce battles of the gods against the Titans finally left Zeus and his brothers and sisters the reigning gods. The illustrations are wonderful, as we have come to expect from Aliki. They are "adapted from Greek vase paintings and sculpture." In the author's words, "There were times when they all (the gods and goddesses) ascended to their thrones. And they were magnificent."
Children's Literature - Deborah Zink Roffino
Celestial streaks of gold and blue enliven the attractive pages containing rudimentary facts on the idols of ancient Greece. Easy to use, simple text, with a few paragraphs recounting their place in the heavenly hierarchy, friends, enemies and associated lore. Excellent tool for more reluctant readers, and perfect for early research or browsing.
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