STORIES FOR OLDER CHILDREN.
Reading edition
The cycle story hours in the St. Louis Public Library are planned to interest older boys and girls in great works of literature and to inspire them to read along one line for several weeks or months. Stories in a series are told at a definite hour each week to encourage regular attendance. However, each story is complete in itself and any boys and girls of nine years and more are invited to attend whether or not they are registered borrowers of books.
GREEK CYCLE STORIES.
Greek Myths.
1. The gorgon's head.
2. Three golden apples.
3. The miraculous pitcher.
4. The Chimaera.
5. The Minotaur.
6. The Pygmies.
7. The golden fleece.
Sources for the story teller:
Hawthorne. Wonder book. Hawthorne. Tanglewood tales. Kingsley. Heroes, or, Greek fairy tales for my children.
The Hawthorne books are Greek myths interpreted into moral stories written in the author's inimitable style. The characters are more human and real to the child than those in the Kingsley version. Kingsley retains the Greek spirit and tells the stories in bold, strong, heroic outlines. They are probably more easily adapted than the Hawthorne versions.
Stories from the Odyssey.
1. Adventures of Ulysses with the Lotus Eaters and the Cyclops.
2. Kingdom of the Winds and the Island of Circe.
3. The visit to the Land of Shades.
4. Song of the Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis and the Oxen of the Sun.
5. The Island of Calypso and the shipwreck on the coast of Phaeocia.
6. Princess Nausicaa.
7. Battle of the Beggars.
8. Triumph of Ulysses.
Sources for the story teller:
Homer. Odyssey; tr. by W.C. Bryant.
Parts read or recited from this straightforward, dignified translation in blank verse will be appreciated by children.
Homer. Odyssey; done into English prose by Butcher and Lang.
Homer; tr. by G.H. Palmer.
Both the above are accepted classic prose translations. The prose of Palmer is so direct, simple and rhythmic that a twelve-year-old child can enjoy it. Butcher and Lang use an older English style in the endeavor to make the translation an accurate historical document. The archaic language with its somewhat involved phrasing is confusing to children and makes it less readable than the Palmer translation.
Marvin. Adventures of Odysseus.
This book is for boys and girls to read for themselves. So much of the Homeric spirit is retained and it is so well done that it will be very suggestive in organizing and preparing stories from the Odyssey for oral rendition.
Stories from the Iliad.
1. Cause of the Trojan war.
2. The quarrel of the chiefs and the results.
3. The duel of Paris and Menelaus. The great battles and the death of Patroclus.
4. Achilles in his sorrow vows vengeance on Troy. The armor of Achilles.
5. Death of Hector. Priam and Achilles.
6. The wooden horse and the end of the Trojan war.
Sources for the story teller:
Homer. Iliad; tr. into English by W.C. Bryant.
An interesting, dignified and scholarly rendition into English blank verse.
Homer. The Iliad for boys and girls by A.J. Church.
The Iliad translated into direct and simple prose.
Homer. Stories from the Iliad by H.L. Havell.
The atmosphere and spirit of the Iliad are well kept in this most excellent prose version of the Iliad. It may be used with older boys and girls and is a valuable aid in the preparation of the stories.