Michael Morpurgo's Myths & Legends

My 8 year olds current topic at School is, Gods and Mortals…. Perfect book! My son absolutely loves this book and I can honestly say he hasn’t wanted to put it down, highly recommend.

Lovely stories (except one) but there are only 6 or 7. Book is heavy and a softback, so isnt easy to hold.

This collection of ten re-told myths and legends for children by various authors and illustrators - including Michael Morpurgo’s version of Gawain and the Green Knight - is excellent. Morpurgo’s introduction explains the origins of storytelling in a way that today’s children living in an electronic age may find fascinating.Every page is beautifully illustrated, and the selection of tales is sure to entertain, and add to a child’s general knowledge. Each of the stories has a short introduction explaining its possible origin, and these are also first rate. Sentences are short, and there are no complex words, so the book can be read to children of various ages; it’s also an ideal choice for children to practice their reading aloud skills.

Michael Morpurgo himself is an absolute legend in writing great stories for children including My Father is a Polar Bear and War Horse.Only one of these ten short stories is actually written by Morpurgo, Gawain and the Green Knight but the other stories are really good reads too. I liked reading the different stories from Mulan where the hero is a girl warrior, to Finn McCool and the Giant's Causeway where the mother saves the day by dressing up her giant son in a baby outfit!. Brilliant!Lovely illustrations. Great stories.There are also two more in the series; Greatest Magical Stories, and Greatest Animal Stories.

A collection of myths and legends some I know really well and some i have never heard off but that is what this a wonderful collection. Michael Morpurgo has chosen these stories . They have been retold and illustrated by a vast number of authors and illustrators. This will be a well loved book that will bring many hours of joy.

Michael Morporgo's involvement in this collection instantly got my attention. This beautiful book looks and reads like it has been put together with real care and love for the story origins. The beautifully illustrated stories are a great variety of familiar and probably less familiar stories retold very entertainingly. Really impressed by this collection of myths and legends. Great!

If you know your modern children’s literature Michael Morpurgo is a name that you will have come across; a former Child Laureate and now a Knight of the Realm. His books are often very well written and tackle some more serious subject matter than Captains in underpants. This book reflects more the taste of the man and not just his work as it is a collection of classic tales. ‘Magical Myths and Legends’ at first feels like a very eclectic mix as the stories range from Mulan to Icarus, but there is method in the madness. Unlike so many generic fairy tale collections available to buy, this is full of stories that most children will not own, or perhaps even know about.One of the most fun elements of the collection is that each story is tackled by a new author and illustrator so they all feel different. The book is resplendent with full colour imagery often wrapping the text of the story. It is the type of bedtime story book that you dreamt of as a child. That being said, the fact that the tales are not the most well-known means that it feels a little on the worthy side. There is a reason why some of the more popular stories turn up over and over again. Even Sir Michael is not quite able to make Gawain the Green Knight that interesting a read.I see ‘Magical Myths and Legends’ as a book that would be best suited to a slightly older curious child who has an appetite for new and different stories. You can easily read this book to others at bedtime, but it would work even better as something a child discovers for themselves. The book itself is a lovely red hardback and feels like it was designed to be given as a gift. Do you think you know the right child?

This is a delightful selection of myths, by different authors and illustrated colourfully by a variety of artists. They are very short and simply worded so are suitable for children aged 6-9.The stories some from many different cultures and eras and are perfect for bedtime reading.