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Anderson, Rachel, and David Bradby (Bob Dewar, illus.). Reynard the Fox. New York: Oxford UP, 1986.

Harrison, Michael (Tudor Humphries, illus.). The Curse of the Ring. New York: Oxford UP, 1987.

Harrison, Michael (Tudor Humphries, illus.). The Doom of the Gods. New York: Oxford UP, 1985.

Middleton, Hayden (Anthea Toorchen, illus.). The Island of the Mighty. New York: Oxford UP, 1987.

These books are the first four in the Oxford Myths and Legends before our time," and after the last battle, "new land rose out of
series. Oxford claims that these books "retell" traditional myths the waters," "birds and beasts covered the land," and "New men
and legends and that each book contains "full color and black and and women spread over the land and a new Father ruled the
white illustrations [which] combine with the text in appealing to heavens." This Christian ending is not in the original.
younger readers while retaining the power of poetry of the old The Island of the Mighty is perhaps the most disappointing of
stories" (jacket blurb). the four. It selects Welsh tales from the Mabinogi and elsewhere,

There is great need for books which will introduce young making sure to include one with King Arthur in it and another
readers to myths and legends other than those from Greece and with Merlin and dragons but with little or no thought as to how
Rome. Western European myths and legends, especially the Scandi- well they fit together into a whole. The Second Branch of the
navian and Celtic, have been shortchanged for generations, attract- Mabinogi is retold without reference to the other three branches,
ing popular attention only in such publications as Thor comic and Nisien, the brother of Efnisien is missing from the story.
books and various fantasy novels or as a part of the Arthurian These retellings seem to be less an attempt to introduce young
legends respectively. Unfortunately, these books promise a good readers to ancient myths and legends and more an attempt to
deal more than they deliver. capitalize on the inherent ability of myth and legend to attract

Reynard the Fox is perhaps the best of the lot because it readers - even in such skimpy versions as these. If these were
attempts so little. It is a pleasant collection of some of the more really introductions for young people: I) stories would be told
popular tales of the traditional French trickster figure, Reynard faithfully, and many of them, especially in the Norse and Celtic
the Fox. A number of the stories feature Reynard's prodigious books, are not; and 2) there would be support materials -
appetite, and all of the stories show the trickster at his sly best. introductions and afterwords, maps, and bibliographies. Except

The Curse of the Ring is a retelling of the Volsunga Saga, for Reynard the Fox, which has an afterword that discusses the
probably more familiar as Wagner's Ring Cycle of operas, contain- source materials as well as the history and nature of the Reynard
ing the stories of Sigurd - the forging of the sword, the slaying of stories, not one of these books has any secondary materials in it.
Fafnir, and the rescue of Brynhild. The strength of this book is What happens to the child who wants to find out more about
that it is a fairly complete retelling of the Ring story. these materials? One expects better scholarship from Oxford

The Doom of the Gods attempts to present Norse mythology University Press.
in its 80 pages. The collection begins with "The Wall of Asgard,"
includes most of the popular stories, and concludes with
"Ragnarok." But the stories of the Norse Gods are set in "a time

- c. W. SullivanIII

6

c. W. Sullivan III, Editor
Children's Folklore Review
Department of English
East Carolina University
Greenville, N.C. 27858-4353

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