Friday, March 27, 2015

Book Review: Mini Myth Board Books

I am excited to announce these two new board books in the Mini Myths series, published on March 24, 2015: Brush Your Hair, Medusa! and Make a Wish, Midas! both by Joan Holub and illustrated by Leslie Patricelli (advance copies provided courtesy of Mother Daughter Book Reviews in exchange for an honest review).


Brush Your Hair, Medusa! (24 page board book, publisher recommends for ages 1-3). Joan Holub's delightful Mini Myths series takes familiar stories from Greek mythology and brings the characters and lessons down to the toddler level. Medusa has no interest in getting her wild hair brushed, and her wily delay tactics will be quite familiar to parents. But Grandma knows her secret weakness and wins the battle. The book concludes with a shortened version of the original Medusa myth.

This story does a great job of sharing both toddler and parent perspectives. The black and white alternating dialogue make it easy to determine who is speaking, and kids will enjoy reading or repeating back Medusa's lines. A cute story to placate the wild-haired little ones in your life!


Make a Wish, Midas! (24 page board book, publisher recommends for ages 1-3). Midas's favorite color is yellow. He only wants to wear yellow; he only wants to eat yellow; he only wants to color yellow. But it is only after he decides to take matters into his own hands with his green dinosaur, Dinoboo, that he discovers the error of his ways. The book concludes with a brief version of the original Midas myth, focused around his golden touch (no donkey ears here).

This is a great story for the picky dresser or picky eater (or unruly artist), as toddlers will well relate to his desires for control and obsession over his favorite color. This book also features a diverse main character and mother, making it especially attractive for those seeking inclusive books.

Though these books are geared towards toddlers, my third graders were incredibly bemused and interested when I brought both books into class this week. I think they were passed around to nearly everyone in class, and kids enjoyed noticing the connections and divergences from the original myths.

More about Author Joan Holub

Joan Holub’s fascination with mythology inspired Mini Myths, a new board book series that translates famous myths into situations familiar to preschoolers. The first two titles are Be Patient, Pandora! and Play Nice, Hercules! published by Abrams Appleseed. Joan co-authors two other mythology series for Simon and Schuster, Goddess Girls (ages 8-12) and Heroes in Training (ages 7-10). Her picture book, Mighty Dads, was a New York Times bestseller in 2014. Visit her website, visit her author blog, or follow her on Twitter.

More about Illustrated Leslie Patricelli

Leslie Patricelli is the bestselling author-illustrator of many adorable board books, including Yummy Yucky and Toot! See more books by Leslis Patricelli here.

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