The book contains 20 stories as wide-ranging as Theseus and the Minotaur to Thor’s Hammer to the Journey of the Monkey King. They are split thematically into six chapters: In the Beginning, Gods and Goddesses, Journeys and Quests, Fantastic Worlds, Monsters and Mythical Creatures and Magic and Trickery.
These stories are interspersed with spreads which bring together different myths in an interesting unifying theme. Featured, for example, are the many weapons used by the gods, the amazing objects collected by heroes and heroines on their quests and the different relics found in the underworld.
All the myths are written by Stella Caldwell in an exciting and absorbing voice. Each myth is illustrated by an artist from the culture where the story takes place, creating a unique artistic celebration that is culturally sensitive to all featured tales. The artists included are Erin Brown, George Caltsoudas, Danica Da Silva Pereira, Sandra Eleftheriou, Tinuke Fagborun, Pauliina Hannuniemi, Teo Georgiev, Janine Gibbons, Hemad Javadzade, Kiki Kita, Vassilis Koutsogiannis, Solji Lee, Coco Apunnguaq Lynge, Renia Metallinou, Nour Nasser, Jiatong Liu, Anastasiia Panchenko, Cathrin Peterslund, Robert Sae-Heng, Katie Skelland and Nadiyah Suyatna. These artists have been nominated for, and won, a number of prestigious national and international illustration awards, including the World Illustration Award, the Bologna Children’s Bookfair Award, the Hans Christian Anderson Award and the American Indian Youth Literature Honor Award.
