A spunky, feminist take on the myth of Gaia, the Greek goddess of the Earth
Long before the age of the Olympian gods, Gaia created the world in all its beauty. But from Gaia also came the Titans, who ran wild and free through this world—until her husband Ouranos turned on Gaia and declared himself the ruler of all she’d created. Her son Cronus then rose to power, but soon he too became hungry for more power—so much so that he swallowed his own children. But Gaia managed to hide the youngest son, Zeus, from Cronus. Zeus grew up and defeated Cronus and saved his brothers and sisters. Gaia thought this would be the end of all the needless war, but Zeus was not satisfied—he swore to rid the world of anyone who challenged his power. Gaia was furious. She wanted no part in the world of Zeus. She would not fight his destruction with more destruction. It might be too late for Zeus, but it wasn’t too late for the mortals—or for the earth itself. Follow the goddess of earth through her struggles with gods and mortals as she discovers her strength and eventually finds the peace she has always longed for.
Tales of Great Goddesses are graphic novels that bring the stories of some of the most powerful and fascinating mythical goddesses to life!---from the publisher
96 pages 978-1419748615 Ages 8-12
Keywords: graphic novel, mythology, goddesses, girls and women, 8 year old, 9 year old, 10 year old, 11 year old, 12 year old
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Imagine you made something that was so beautiful and powerful that everyone wanted to take it for themselves. And then you had to watch them destroy it. Would you fight for it?
Meet Gaia, the ancient Greek goddess who created the Earth and the universe that stretched beyond it. She raised trees from their roots to the sky, sent waterfalls tumbling over cliffs and created the tides that sloshed on the shore. She gifted her creation to animals and mortals, and watched as they made it their home.
But she also created a force she couldn't control: the ambition of gods. Gaia watched as the gods fought brutal wars and manipulated mortals such as Hercules and Achilles, disturbing peace on Earth. Storms raged, fires blazed and people, animals and plants suffered. Gaia begged the gods to look after her creation, but no one listened.
But Gaia never gave up fighting for a better world. This is her story.
From the sisters who gave us the remarkable Madame Curie and her Daughters, and Athena: the Story of a Goddess comes another journey into Greek mythology with this modern take on the story of Gaia, told by the Fates, -Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos - in a graphic narrative that is designed for independent readers. With a poignant environmental message that the pursuit of power damages our natural world, and we all have to work together to protect it, it is a relevant today as it was during the time of the Ancient Greeks 3000 years ago.
But not only does it offer an introduction to Greek mythology that forms such a strong platform of our beliefs and values, it can also be a companion to those books that you might have been using to investigate the origins of this planet. For every civilisation has its creation myths which make for intriguing studies in themselves, let alone comparing and contrasting the lore with the science.
Fascinating.
Recommended by: Barbara Braxton, Teacher Librarian, New South Wales AUSTRALIA
See more of her recommendations:
500 Hats https://500hats.edublogs.org/
The Bottom Shelf https://thebottomshelf.edublogs.org/
Storybook Cushions https:// bit.ly/storybook_cushions
