The Prince and the Golden Ax: A Minoan Tale

by Deborah Nourse Lattimore

Book Overview

A proud Minoan prince challenges the Goddess Diktynna, who first offers him rewards for his courage but then threatens to destroy Thera, his homeland, when his boasting angers her. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060237155
• ISBN13: 9780060237158
• Release Date: January 1988
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Length: 37 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Kindergarten to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

Beautifully-illustrated story

The Prince and the Golden Ax is a beautifully-illustrated storybook. The author colorfully invents a myth about a Minoan prince who, through his hubris before the ancient gods, brings about the destruction of the Minoan culture via the volcanic eruption of Thera. The book is richly-illustrated in the style of ancient fresco paintings, complete with Minoan-style clothing, boats and architecture. The story is admirably successful in evoking a feeling of the period (based on what we know of it, of course), and is enjoyable to read. I respectfully disagree with the previous reviewer's opinion that the book contains "too many words". As long as children can see the pictures (and perhaps by reading this story in conjunction with other studies of this period), they should be as captivated as I was. As suggested by the School Library Journal's review, it would be interesting, from an adult perspective, if the author detailed the historical sources for the elements in her story.