Höðr is a god in Norse mythology. The blind son of Odin, he is tricked and guided by Loki into shooting a mistletoe arrow which was to slay the otherwise invulnerable Baldr.
In folklore, giants are beings of humanoid appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word giant is first attested in 1297 from Robert of Gloucester's chronicle. It is derived from the Gigantes of Greek mythology.
In Norse mythology, Jörmungandr, also known as the Midgard Serpent or World Serpent, is an unfathomably large sea serpent or worm who dwells in the world sea, encircling the Earth (Midgard) and biting his own tail, an example of an ouroboros. As a result of it surrounding Midgard it is referred to as the World Serpent. Jörmungandr releasing its tail is one of the signs of the beginning of Ragnarök.
Germanic mythology consists of the body of myths native to the Germanic peoples, including Norse mythology, Anglo-Saxon mythology, and Continental Germanic mythology. It was a key element of Germanic paganism.
Ingri d'Aulaire and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire were American writers and illustrators of children's books who worked primarily as a team, completing almost all of their well-known works together. The couple immigrated to the United States from Europe and worked on books that focused on history such as Abraham Lincoln, which won the 1940 Caldecott Medal. They were part of the group of immigrant artists composed of Feodor Rojankovsky, Roger Duvoisin, Ludwig Bemelmans, Miska Petersham and Tibor Gergely, who helped shape the Golden Age of picture books in mid-twentieth-century America.
Comparative mythology is the comparison of myths from different cultures in an attempt to identify shared themes and characteristics. Comparative mythology has served a variety of academic purposes. For example, scholars have used the relationships between different myths to trace the development of religions and cultures, to propose common origins for myths from different cultures, and to support various psychoanalytical theories.
Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes is a book written by Edith Hamilton, published in 1942 by Little, Brown and Company. It has been reissued since then by several publishers, including its 75th anniversary illustrated edition. It retells stories of Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology drawn from a variety of sources. The introduction includes commentary on the major classical poets used as sources, and on how changing cultures have led to changing characterizations of the deities and their myths. It is frequently used in high schools and colleges as an introductory text to ancient mythology and belief.
The Norse mythology, preserved ancient Icelandic texts such as the Poetic Edda, the Prose Edda, and other lays and sagas, was little known outside Scandinavia until the 19th century. With the widespread publication of Norse myths and legends at this time, references to the Norse gods and heroes spread into European literary culture, especially in Scandinavia, Germany, and Britain. In the later 20th century, references to Norse mythology became common in science fiction and fantasy literature, role-playing games, and eventually other cultural products such as Japanese animation. Storytelling was an important aspect of Norse mythology and centuries later, with the rediscovery of the myth, Norse mythology once again relies on the impacts of storytelling to spread its agenda.
The Regina Medal is a literary award conferred annually by the Catholic Library Association. It recognizes one living person for "continued, distinguished contribution to children's literature without regard to the nature of the contribution" and several recipients have been neither writers nor illustrators of children's books. It was inaugurated in 1959, and it is administered by the Children's Library Services Section.
Richard Russell Riordan Jr. is an American author, best known for writing the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. Riordan's books have been translated into forty-two languages and sold more than thirty million copies in the United States. 20th Century Fox adapted the first two books of his Percy Jackson series as part of a series of films in which Riordan was not involved. Riordan currently serves as a co-creator and executive producer on the television series adaption of the book series that was released on Disney+ in 2023. Riordan's books have also spawned other related media, such as graphic novels and short story collections.
Abraham Lincoln is a biography written and illustrated by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire about Abraham Lincoln. Originally published by Doubleday, it was the recipient of the Caldecott Medal for illustration in 1940.
The New York Review Books Children's Collection is a series of children's books released under the publishing imprint New York Review Books. The series was founded in 2003 to reintroduce some of the many children's books that have fallen out of print, or simply out of mainstream attention. The series includes more than 80 titles, ranging from picture books to young adult novels. Often reissued with new introductions, writers such as Michael Chabon, Neil Gaiman, and Philip Pullman have all introduced titles in this series.
Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories concern the ancient Greek religion's view of the origin and nature of the world; the lives and activities of deities, heroes, and mythological creatures; and the origins and significance of the ancient Greeks' cult and ritual practices. Modern scholars study the myths to shed light on the religious and political institutions of ancient Greece, and to better understand the nature of myth-making itself.
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The northernmost extension of Germanic mythology and stemming from Proto-Germanic folklore, Norse mythology consists of tales of various deities, beings, and heroes derived from numerous sources from both before and after the pagan period, including medieval manuscripts, archaeological representations, and folk tradition. The source texts mention numerous gods such as the thunder-god Thor, the raven-flanked god Odin, the goddess Freyja, and numerous other deities.
Children of the Soil: A Story of Scandinavia is a children's novel by Nora Burglon, published by Doubleday, Doran & Co. in 1932 with illustrations by Edgar Parin D'Aulaire. Set in Sweden in the early 1900s, it tells the story of a poor family whose ability and hard work brings them success. Burglon was a runner-up for the 1933 Newbery Medal recognizing the "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children".
Christopher John Rocco, simply known as John Rocco is an American illustrator of book covers and children's books. He is best known for illustrating the covers of books in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. He is the sole creator of some children's picture books.
The creation of life from clay can be seen as a miraculous birth theme that appears throughout world religions and mythologies. It can also be seen as one of gods who craft humans out of earthly materials. As such, this class of story falls within a larger set of divine or cosmogonic origin stories about creation, whether through divine emergence or divine craft.
Percy Jackson's Greek Gods is a collection of short stories about Greek mythology as narrated by Percy Jackson. It was written by Rick Riordan and was released on August 19, 2014. It features Percy Jackson giving his own take on the Greek myths in a humorous way.
