Category: | Our Mythical Childhood Survey

Maria Krüger

Apolejka and Her Donkey [Apolejka i jej osiołek]

Based on: Katarzyna Marciniak, Elżbieta Olechowska, Joanna Kłos, Michał Kucharski (eds.), Polish Literature for Children & Young Adults Inspired by Classical Antiquity: A Catalogue, Faculty of “Artes Liberales”, Warsaw: University of Warsaw, 2013, 444 pp.A princess named Apolejka lives alone in a high tower on a hill outside the town. One day from the windows of her tower she notices a chimney-sweep drinking water from the well. The very next instant the boy turns into a donkey; (...)

literary

YEAR: 1963

COUNTRY: Poland

TAGS: Apuleius Metamorphosis

Carlo Lorenzini, Enrico Mazzanti

The Adventures of Pinocchio. Story of a Puppet [Le avventure di Pinocchio. Storia di un burattino]

The Adventures of Pinocchio. Story of a Puppet narrates the quest of a wooden animated marionette, Pinocchio. It all starts with the best known incipit of all time: “Once upon a time, there was… “A king!” my little readers will say right away. No children, you are wrong. Once upon a time there was a piece of wood.” *And so, we are at once catapulted into the shop of a carpenter, Master Antonio, called Master Cherry because the tip of his nose was always (...)

literary

YEAR: 1883

COUNTRY: Italy

TAGS: Aesop Aesop’s Fables Apuleius Demiurge Lucian of Samosata Metamorphosis Plato

Carson Ellis, Cynthia Rylant

The Beautiful Stories of Life: Six Greek Myths, Retold

Attractively presented as a small, square hardback book, The Beautiful Stories of Life is a compendium of six well known classical myths: the stories of Pandora, Persephone, Orpheus, Pygmalion, Narcissus, and Psyche. The stories are lyrically told, with an alternating pattern of longer descriptive passages followed by single sentences that underscore the important messages of each story. Aphorisms feature throughout the book, presented as "the stories of life" in the book’s title(...)

literary

YEAR: 2009

COUNTRY: United Kingdom

TAGS: Aphrodite Apuleius Cerberus Demeter Echo Epimetheus Eros Eurydice Golden Ass Hades Metamorphosis Narcissus Ovid Pandora Pandora’s Box Persephone Prometheus Psyche Pygmalion Underworld Zeus