Other editions of book A Wonder Book for Girls & Boys

THE author has long been of opinion that many of the classical myths were capable of being rendered into very capital reading for children. In the little volume here offered to the public, he has worked up half a dozen of them, with this end in view. A great freedom of treatment was necessary to his plan; but it will be observed by every one who attempts to render these legends malleable in his intellectual furnace, that they are marvellously independent of all temporary modes and circumstances. They remain essentially the same, after changes that would affect the identity of almost anything else.

A Wonder-Book for Boys and Girls is a classic retelling for children of some of the most famous stories from Greek mythology. In this collection you will find the stories of The Gorgon’s Head, The Golden Touch, The Paradise of Children, The Three Golden Apples, The Miraculous Pitcher, and The Chimæra. Hawthorne’s A Wonder-Book for Boys and Girls is an excellent collection of stories of adventure and fantasy which serves as a great introduction to Greek mythology for younger readers.

Gathered here are master storyteller Nathaniel Hawthorne's delightful retellings for children of six Greek myths, including The Gorgon's Head, The Golden Touch, The Three Golden Apples, The Chimaera, The Miraculous Pitcher, and The Paradise of Children. These stories within a larger story—that of a college student telling the myths to a group of children—will delight young and old.

Hawthorne's gentle, charming collection of classic myths retold for the children of his day is a neglected classic. Addressing the reader in personable Victorian fashion, his prose is clear and beautiful. Adding to the pleasure of these retold tales is the gorgeous art of Arthur Rackham, both in black-and-white drawings and full-color plates, which captures the unearthly beauty and the unexpectedly surprising humor of Hawthorne's work.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

A Wonder-Book for Boys and Girls is a classic retelling for children of some of the most famous stories from Greek mythology. In this collection you will find the stories of "The Gorgon's Head", "The Golden Touch", "The Paradise of Children", "The Three Golden Apples", "The Miraculous Pitcher", and "The Chimæra". Hawthorne's "A Wonder-Book for Boys and Girls" is an excellent collection of stories of adventure and fantasy which serves as a great introduction to Greek mythology for younger readers.

First published in 1851 by Nathaniel Hawthorne, “A Wonder-Book for Boys and Girls” is a captivating and classic retelling for children of some of the most famous stories from Greek mythology. Hawthorne followed this first collection of Greek tales with a sequel, “The Tanglewood Tales” in 1853. The book is set as a story-within-a-story with a fictional college student retelling these timeless myths to a group of school children. Hawthorne modified these legendary tales for a younger and more modern audience after first having the idea several years before to bring these important and influential stories to American children in a more accessible format. The birth of Hawthorne’s daughter in 1851 inspired the completion of the project. In this collection you will find tales such as “The Gorgon’s Head”, which recounts the slaying of Medusa by Perseus, “The Golden Touch”, which is the tale of King Midas, “The Three Golden Apples”, featuring Hercules, “The Chimaera”, which tells the story of Bellerophon and Pegasus, and three more classic myths. Hawthorne’s “A Wonder-Book for Boys and Girls” is an excellent and entertaining collection of stories of adventure and fantasy which serves as a great introduction to Greek mythology for younger readers. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

"I mean to write the Story of Midas, with his Golden Touch, Pandora's Box, The Adventure of Hercules in quest of the Golden Apples, Bellerophon and the Chimæra, Baucis and Philemon, Perseus and Medusa; these, I think, will be enough to make up a volume. As a framework, I shall have a young college-student telling these stories to his cousins and brothers and sisters, during his vacations, sometimes in the woods and dells. Unless I greatly mistake, these old fictions will work up admirably for the purpose; and I shall aim at substituting a tone in some degree Gothic or romantic, or any such tone as may best please myself, instead of the classic coldness which is as repellant as the touch of marble. . . ." -- Nathaniel Hawthorne

A Wonder Book for Girls & Boys The author has long been of opinion that many of the classical myths were capable of being rendered into very capital reading for children. In the little volume here offered to the public, he has worked up half a dozen of them, with this end in view. A great freedom of treatment was necessary to his plan; but it will be observed by every one who attempts to render these legends malleable in his intellectual furnace, that they are marvellously independent of all temporary modes and circumstances. They remain essentially the same, after changes that would affect the identity of almost anything else. "A Wonder Book for Girls & Boys" has a beautiful glossy cover and a blank page for the dedication.