Long Ago Tales Told

We are stories.  As long as there have been people there have been stories of every form and size.  They define us as individuals and as complete cultures.  They help us to make sense of those things having no apparent explanation.  They keep us grounded and allow us to soar into the cosmos.

In ancient Greece a body of literary work, their myths, was a form of religion for many.  The gods and goddesses were studied and worshiped.  Heroes and heroines and their acts were woven into the fabric of these stories.  In their third partnership, author and poet Marilyn Singer and illustrator Josee Masse, offer readers another collection of poetry.  Echo Echo: Reverso Poems about Greek Myths (Dial Books for Young Readers, February 16, 2016) are fourteen poems in pairs, eleven showcasing couples, a twelfth about a woman who released woes into the world and two others opening and closing the stories within.

An Age of Marvelous Myths

Ancient Greece:
An age of marvelous myths,
gone, but not forgotten.
Heroes that rise and fall. ...

...Heroes that rise and fall,
gone, but not forgotten.
An age of marvelous myths:
Ancient Greece.

As our eyes read the words left, top to bottom, and right, top to bottom, two columns and two poems, their order inverted, meanings shift.  Points of view may change along with the speakers.   We find ourselves speculating about the altered circumstances.

We come to understand why, regardless of an admonishment, Pandora's curiosity overcame her good sense but in turn something prompted her to hold hope.  In this instance wisdom overcame weakness.  After a competition an angry loser turns her opponent into a spider, a mighty ruler's touch creates value except in the one thing he treasures most, and a warrior wins a battle no one could possibly win; these three show us the imperfections in mortals, immortals and monsters.

In flight two fall, one eager for glory and the other failing to heed words of wisdom.  Love fades, love fashions life, loves races to victory, love cheats death and loses to death again.  A single thread saves one and a succession of fourteen others.

Gods and Mortals
These myths
make sense of
the world.
We--- ...

...We,
the world,
make sense of
these myths.


As in the previous two titles readers will be astounded at the consummate skill of Marilyn Singer in writing thoroughly unique poems using the same words, reversed in order, with punctuation and capitalization changes alone.  She portrays the soul of these myths with her exquisite selection of words, each line's length unfolding the events with intention.  Her understanding of the myths through research is highly evident.  For readers not familiar with a particular story at the bottom of each set of poems, she includes a brief explanation.


On the matching dust jacket and book case Josee Masse presents readers with a color palette she continues to use throughout the title, hues of blue, white, greens and shades of golden yellow and orange.  The image on the front depicts ancient Greece on the top and modern times on the bottom.  This is the illustration for the first poem, with the bottom becoming the top.  To the left, on the back, text and images highlight the first two reverso books. On the opening and closing endpapers two different shades of the golden yellow and orange are used.

Rendered with Liquitex Acrylic on Strathmore 500 series bristol sheet---2-ply vellum the illustrations are as fluid and flawless as the poetic stories they interpret.  Fine lines, exquisite detail and the interplay of shadow and light are breathtaking.  Each picture is two wholes becoming one, a mirror of the two reverso poems on the opposite page.  They are separate but they overlap at the same time.  Without hesitation we are requested to stop and look at every single one.

My favorite image is for the poems Arachne and Athena.  On the left the predominant color is golden.  On the right it is blue.  We see two rooms with arched doorways on the far left and far right.  A single tapestry joins the goddess Athena (on the left) holding her spear with an owl depicted on her side of the weaving and Arachne (on the right), her portion of the fabric a spider web.  Beneath her attire are the legs of a spider.  Their facial features express the anger of one and the fear of the other.


Echo Echo written by Marilyn Singer with illustrations by Josee Masse is a beautiful volume of this singular style of poetry.  With the popularity of Greek myths, this will find a ready audience.  They can most assuredly be enjoyed silently but when you read them aloud you are transported back in time.  You will want to have this book on both your personal and professional shelves.  An author's note at the back offers further information about Greek myths, reverso poems and several resources.

To learn more about Marilyn Singer and Josee Masse and their other work please use the links attached to their names to access their websites.  If you wish to use an educator's guide for all three books please follow this link.  Marilyn Singer writes about reverso poems and her three titles at Brightly.

Riordan Rocks!

Readers are in for a rockin' roller coaster of a ride in Rick Riordan's latest and greatest, The Lost Hero.  This first book in the new Heroes of Olympus series takes fans back to the familiar territory of Camp Half-Blood.  Who could resist this opening line?--Even before he got electrocuted, Jason was having a rotten day.

To begin Jason finds himself on a bus with other students attending the Wilderness School; a school for those teens that live on the wrong side of the law.  He does not recognize his best friend Leo or his girlfriend, Piper.  When the bus arrives at its destination of the Grand Canyon an unnatural storm brings in the evil wind spirits, venti that threaten each of their lives.

Jason finds that a gold coin in his pocket can bring forth a weapon of gold that suits whatever situation presents itself to him.  He is also amazed to learn that his father is non-other than the King of Olympus, Zeus.  Finding himself at Camp Half-Blood after this first battle should be a relief to Jason but his loss of memory has him feeling uneasy.

He somehow knows that this is not where he belongs.  If so, why is he here?  And more importantly where has he been instead of at Camp Half-Blood?

From as far back as he can remember, Leo, has had a gift with tools.  Growing up by learning with and helping his mother in her workshop, Leo can build just about anything.  He also has a secret.

Calling forth fire through his emotions or for protection has cost him more than it has helped him.  In his younger days his mysteriously appearing babysitter offered words and situations of instruction and encouragement.  Imagine his surprise at finding out she is the Greek goddess, Hera, who is currently imprisoned by a force greater than the gods.

Hephaestus, god of blacksmiths and fire, has claimed him as son.  Where has this god been all his life especially when his mother died?  What is the explanation of the air-hanger-size cave in the woods around Camp Half-Blood that Leo discovers?  What is this Bunker 9? 

Leo is not the only one with a secret.  Piper's famous movie star father is missing.  Appearing to her in dreams, a huge ugly creature has told her that her father will lose his life unless she betrays her friends.

Even though the time spent with her father has been infrequent during her lifetime, her love for him is strong.  When it is revealed that Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, is her mother, she understands that her father's Cherokee heritage is not the only trait that will lend her strength when needed.  But can Piper use those strengths to help both her friends and her father? 

These three new champions of the demi-gods have until the solstice, just four short days, to save Piper's father and free Hera.  Through the use of visions and dreams of each of the heroes Riordan guides the reader through the events that have culminated in this quest that begins that fulfillment of the Great Prophecy:

Seven half bloods shall answer the call,
To storm or fire, the world must fall,
An oath to keep with a final breath,
And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.

Alternating chapters between the voices, thoughts and actions of each of these characters creates a tension that supersedes the term, page-turner. 

This past spring when Riordan unveiled the first book in the Kane Chronicles, The Red Pyramid, which opens up the world of ancient Egyptian mythology to readers, I personally felt at that time that his writing was sharper; more descriptive and finer tuned.  Unlike what my father used to say, Anticipation is greater than realization, The Lost Hero takes it up another notch.  It's a total blast!  It seems downright cruel that fans and readers have to wait an entire year for the second book in the Heroes of Olympus series, The Son of Neptune, which is coming in the fall of 2011.  We can only hope that in the meantime another book in the Kane Chronicles will appear as planned in the late spring of 2011.

In addition to the web site in blue above check out Rick Riordan's blog .