Bookverdict.com

Gr 2-4 Demi's terse, choppy retelling will not appeal to those who like classic tales left intact, because nearly all that remains of the original story is the king's name and the golden touch itself. The reteller portrays King Midas as "weak and ignorant, miserly and greedy," a man who, when asked to judge a music contest between Apollo and Pan, chooses the less talented Pan as the victor, causing the angry Apollo to curse him with furry...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Midas is "an example of folly being as fatal as sin, for he meant no harm," said Edith Hamilton, the great scholar of Greek mythology. By reversing the order of the two most familiar incidents concerning him, Demi demonstrates the king's lack of intelligence before his dimwitted wish to have everything he touches turn to gold, thus opening the possibility that he'll learn something in the end. Her unsourced but briskly amusing retelling begins with the...Log In or Sign Up to Read More