Hero Tales from World Mythology (Print Textbook)

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Tales of brave heroes appear in every culture around the globe, and this collection of Reader's Theater script-stories showcases ten of the most thrilling hero stories from world mythology. Accompany heroes such as Maui, Finn Mac Cool, and the spider-man Anansi as they take amazing journeys, traveling to destinations such as the palace of the sky god, the fairy realm, and the land of the dead. Along the way, these heroes face formidable monsters such as Oni, giant serpents, and the witch Baba Yaga herself. Each script-story includes a teacher guide with relevant cultural background, story summary, activity ideas, and follow-up questions. Also included is a Design-a-Quest graphic organizer, where students can create their own hero story based on Joseph Campbell's theory of the Hero's Journey and keep the storytelling tradition alive.

10 Exciting Stories Are Included in This Volume:

• Momotaro the Peach Warrior (Japan)
• Vasilisa the Brave (Russia)
• The Deeds of Finn MacCool (Ireland)
• Li Chi and the Serpent (China)
• Anansi and the Sky-God's Stories (West Africa)
• The Hero Twins in the Land of the Dead (Mesoamerica)
• Grandfather Chenoo (American Indian)
• Maui the Mighty (Polynesian)
• The Magic Lake (Ecuadorian)
• Lugalbanda the Littlest Prince (Mesopotamia)

Each Reader's Theater Script-Story Contains a 2-page Teacher Guide with:

• Cultural background information
• Story synopsis
• Big ideas to explore with the story
• Anticipatory questions
• Follow-up deep-thinking questions
• "Creature Feature" section exploring a mythical beast in each story

More About the Series: The Reaching Olympus series utilizes Reader’s Theater script-stories to teach mythology to middle-school and high-school readers. The author’s creative dialogue helps bring the characters of mythology to life. By placing readers in the various roles of mythology, they are allowed to experience the myths firsthand—creating a unique and powerful learning experience. Interactive games are included with each book in the series—adding to the number of ways that mythology can be experienced.

Teacher Reviews

"I've been using Zachary Hamby's books for years now in my high school Mythology class.  The script-story approach has been a huge winner for me.  While I've streamlined my current course down to just his Greek and Roman stories, I own and have used his King Arthur and Norse books in the past (along with a variety of world myths he's published on his website).  I'm hoping to one day get a Mythology II class added to our curriculum so I can make use of the various myths from around the world he's included in this latest collection.  All of the stories are fun to read and easy for high school kids to grok.  Every story comes with background information, discussion questions, trivia and a bevy of other resources to make use of.  I can't see myself ever doing a mythology class going forward that doesn't include these script stories in them."  -Chris M.-

Print copies of this textbook are sold through Amazon.com. Click here to go to this book's Amazon page.