King Midas: A Golden Tale

by Omar Rayyan and John Warren Stewig

Book Overview

King Midas loves gold. Nothing can satisfy his desire for the precious metal, until a mysterious stranger offers him the gift of the Golden Touch. In this modern retelling of the familiar tale of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 082341423X
• ISBN13: 9780823414239
• Release Date: February 1999
• Publisher: Holiday House
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 10.1" x 11.0"
• Age Range: 5 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

"Except in your Hair..."

The story of King Midas is quite possibly the first classical myth that your children will learn; it's clever, humorous, moralistic, and (rarest of all in the massive canon of myths) has a happy ending! Those Greeks were great storytellers. As such, there are hundreds of Midas retellings out there - perhaps best known is K. Y. Craft's exquisitely illustrated version which I would also highly recommend. But if you're looking for the best - the very best; then (as much as I adore Craft's beautiful work) I'm going to have to recommend John Warren Stewig and Omar Rayyan's collaboration. By Craft's own admission, her illustrations for the myth take on a more Victoriana style, which - as beautiful as they are - grate slightly within the context of a classical myth, whilst Rayyan's illustrations are quintessentially Greek/Roman. Painted in delicate watercolours in a style that is cartoonish and yet still realistic, Rayyan's creations light up the page. Throughout, there are several sly and humorous features hidden within the pictures, such as reoccurring sub-characters, modern elements and mythological creatures that frequent Midas's palace and watch the proceedings with languid interest. Especially well done is the mysterious stranger (never named, but obviously Dionysus/Bacchus what with his vines and leopard skin), and his wise, lazy, amused expressions; the face of a god. But to match these gorgeous illustrations must be a narrative to match. In this Stewig adequately and often poignantly retells the famous story of the foolish king; in love with gold only a little less than with his pretty daughter Marygold. When a stranger offers him the gift of the Golden Touch Midas accepts without hesitation, certain that it is the key to his happiness: anything that he touches will magically transform into gold. The following day brings the gift: his clothes, his furniture and his flowers are transformed - but then so are his spectacles, his food and then tragically, his beloved daughter. Cursing his newfound `gift', Midas willingly gives it back, restoring all he changed with the cleansing waters of the River Pactolus. Now he delights in telling his grandchildren: "Ever since that morning, I cannot stand the sight of gold, except in your hair." But I really must go back to those illustrations! The modern elements - such as alarm clocks, sunglasses and "Plato Poseidon Puffs" brand cereal - far from being obtrusive, fit wonderfully into the context of the story, being both funny and whimsical. Likewise are the range of mythological creatures - centaurs, mermaids, fauns, satyrs, cherubs, harpies, minotaurs (and sometimes a blending of these creatures) - as well as Midas's exotic pets, who all tell their own little tales as they dart in and out of the illustrations. There are also little cameo appearances by characters from other books - but I could talk about the pictures for ages when I should really leave it up to yourself to discover. All in all, as per

It's gold and it's mine mine mine

For reasons of my own, I recently set out to find the best possible picture book version of the tale of King Midas. I'm sure you've done the same yourself in your crazy youth. Now depending on how you characterize a picture book as the "best", there are many wonderful version of Midas out there. If you're a fan of prolific Demi's classical style then, "King Midas: The Golden Touch" is your best bet. If, on the other hand, you're addicted to eye-candy treats like those found in Charlotte Craft's, "King Midas and the Golden Touch", then there you would find your quintessential version. But for all Craft and Demi's charms, I give an excessive amount of credit to any picture book that is both faithful to its original story and hilarious to boot. Enter "King Midas" by John Warren Stewig. As well-told as the Demi tale and as lovely to the eye (in an entirely original way) as the Craft, "King Midas" provides one-stop-shopping for the reader looking for the "best" in Midas fare. A tip of the hat to the author. A tip of the hat to the illustrator. There once was a man named Midas. He was a king and loved better than anything (except, possibly, his daughter) gold. It finally got to the point where Midas spent all his time in a room full of the stuff and it was there than he one day is visited by "some sort of god". The stranger offers Midas his greatest wish i.e. to have the Golden Touch. The next morning Midas wakes up and changes bedspreads, posts, curtains, and all sorts of stuff into gold. Things start turning for the worse when Midas goldifies his reading glasses. Then he finds that he can't eat or drink (with great pictures showing this to be the case). When his daughter attempts to comfort him, she too becomes gold and Midas is perturbed, to say the least. Back comes the stranger and Midas, repenting, is given a chance to change everything that is gold back again. He does so with water from the river (drenching his now thoroughly confused daughter) and for the rest of his days cannot stand the sight of that yellow mineral, except perhaps in the hair of his children and grandchildren. The story is retold well here. Stewig has a keen ear and continually keeps the tale interesting. He does not modernize the reading or make it sound overly formal in any way. Instead, he provides us with a straightforward retelling that loses none of its humor in its faithfulness to the original text. That said, it's illustrator Omar Rayyan that deserves most of the credit for this one. First of all, as an official member of the Omar Rayyan Fan Club, I'd like to ask the man personally why he doesn't do MORE children's books these days? As far as I can determine, Mr. Rayyan does a lot of covers of children's books (his paperback cover for Susan Cooper's, "The Boggart" is so clever that I doubt that few people who see it will appreciate it) and once in a while will deign to do a picture book as well. The very few times he does, the results are

Eye-spy

The story is a classic and Stewig did a wonderful job retelling it but in my opinion what really makes the book are the illustrations. Every time I go through the book I find something new in the pictures that I missed before. The book is full of visual jokes and allusions to greek mythology (like a cereal box full of "Poseidon Puffs" and a man with feathered wings falling from the sky). It is one of the most skillfuly (and definatly the most humerously) illustrated childrens books I have seen.

Five stars!

This is definitely a five-star picture book. The story is well told from the start. The text and illustrations break from the stark oral tradition style so often found in books of myths--the bright, yet blended watercolors and the smooth flow of the writing create a warmth and whimsy that welcomed me into the book and made me want to read it again as soon as I was finished. Not to mention, the pictures are hilarious (my favorite is the one of the king wearing his golden spectacles)! They practically tell a story of their own and are captivating in their detail with exotic animals and mythical creatures popping up in every corner. This book breathes life into an overly-well-known tale... what a marvelous introduction into the magic of mythology for any child!

King Midas: A Golden Tale

At last, a retelling of The Golden Touch that captures the essential humour as well as magic of the story. The glittering touches added by the illustrator make the book as much fun for adults as for children. The first page shows a bored king and sleeping pet,a leopard. My children were delighted to point out the leopard's bowl(labeled Spot) and a bag of leopard chow under the king's throne. Reading the book might have turned into a game of find-the-mythological-creature If the story and artwork hadn't possesed so much dramatic tension. Even kids who knew the ending were eager to turn the pages and find out what happened to this King Midas.