A Wonder Book

Greek Mythology Come Alive

By: Nathaniel Hawthorne

Narrated by: Bobbie Frohman

The colorful characters from Greek mythology come alive in exciting adventures captured by the author of The House of the Seven Gables and The Scarlet Letter. Ride Pegasus, open Pandora' Box, kill Medea with her head of many snakes, join Hercules as he flexes his muscles and King Midas as he turn his daughter into gold. The stories, moral in tone, are totally riveting.

A Wonder Book includes:

1. The Gorgon's Head

2. The Golden Touch

3. The Paradise of Children

4. The Three Golden Apples

5. The Miraculous Pitcher

6. The Chimæra

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864) is considered to be one of the greatest American authors of the nineteenth century. Born in Salem, Massachusetts, he used Puritan New England as a setting for many of his short stories, allegorical tales, and novels. The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne’s masterpiece, has never been out of print since it was first published in 1850.

Public Domain (P)2005 Alcazar AudioWorks

Awesome!!

I Love Fantasy!!! So Cool!! Anyone Who Loves Fantasy Should Get This Book!! It's So Cool!

My children loved this book!

I learned of this book from a homeschool reading list for second graders. I decided to download the audio version for a road trip I was taking with my daughters. My 7, 5, and 3 year old girls loved listening to it. I did have to stop and explain a few things and I asked questions to make sure they knew what was going on but all in all it was a wonderful choice and I am excited to get the companion book, Tanglewood Tales for our next road trip.

Lovely retelling of ancient myths

Hawthorne adds his own touch to the ancient tales in a delightful way. The performance itself was a little awkward with the production quality and reader style but still enjoyable overall.

TERRIBLE narrator!!!!!

Hawthorne does a wonderful job of re-telling the tales from classic Greek mythology, but it is very difficult to listen to from the woman who narrates all but the first story. Her speech is slurred, sounding like she is speaking with a mouth full of food or something, and while Hawthorne does not write "down" for children so that adults may enjoy the stories as well, she very much narrates "down" like she is reading to very small children ONLY. The English gentleman who narrated the intro and first story was excellent, reading with enough feeling to capture a juvenile audience, yet not making an adult feel ridiculous for listening, but Ms. Frohman apparently does not have that talent. I bought the book because I am very much interested in all versions of mythology, but am completely disappointed that Ms. Frohman's narration is making it so uncomfortable to get through. I will not buy another book narrated by her, no matter what it is.

Audio quality was great but hum!

What disappointed you about A Wonder Book?

The story telling was so slow that keeping up with the story was a sleep fest!

Has A Wonder Book turned you off from other books in this genre?

No just expected more movement in the story telling!

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Sleepiness

Bait and switch with the readers

The sample is of the reader for the first chapter but the whole rest of the book is read by a second reader who is not included in the sample and who I enjoy listening to far less than the first chapter reader. It's very disappointing to realize that I'm now stuck with a version that I would not have chosen had I known that I was not getting the reader that was advertised in the sample preview.