World Mythology for Beginners: 50 Timeless Tales from Around the Globe

I love that this book was written by a fellow teacher! The layout is visually appealing, the myths are short, and the additional information about themes will be useful to generate discussion in the classroom. I'll be using this as a text in my 10th grade English classroom this year, and I think my students will really enjoy it!

My students loved it.

I've been using Zachary Hamby's Mythology materials for years in my own high school Mythology courses as a teacher. His artistic and writing styles are both incredibly engaging for students and I love his fresh take on 3000 year old stories.I was particularly excited to receive an advanced copy of his newest book World Mythology for Beginners.It's written in a very different style than the rest of his books, but no less interesting or informative. World Mythology for Beginners feels a bit more like a traditional Mythology textbook than his collections of script stories. Each myth is given a roughly 2 page retelling followed by some commentary by Hamby.As a mythology teacher, I definitely prefer his reader's theatre approach in his other books when it comes to teaching a class dedicated solely to mythology, but as an English teacher, these are the versions of myths I would want to go to in a more general class where I was using mythology to supplement instruction, not be the main focus of it. I think World Mythology for Beginners definitely deserves a place on a teacher's shelf if they want to introduce their students to a variety of myths but aren't looking to overwhelm or intimidate them.As a parent of young kids, I really enjoy these stories as they make excellent bedtime reading. Each story only takes a few minutes to read and my kids get exposed to myths from all over the world. I've become a big fan of adding a myth or two to our nighttime reading regimen.I highly recommend any teachers or parents who are looking for a good, entry level introduction to the world of mythology to check out World Mythology for Beginners. The book looks great, feels great, and reads great.

I have used some of the author's readers' theater collections with my students in a mythology course, and found them popular with the students and an effective way to cover stories. This collection has short stories from 9 different regions of the world. It will certainly help me expand my coverage of mythology, since I'm most familiar with Greek, Roman, and Norse, and this collection ranges far beyond Europe. The notes after each story make connections and highlight themes and different types of myths. There is a note in the introduction about potential problematic portrayals of women in mythology, but some of the myths are fairly sanitized versions that might gloss over the most difficult issues. If this book is aimed at high school students, they might be ready for more complex interpretations and the hard discussions that can arise from contemplating challenging myths. I received an advanced copy of the book.

As a teacher of World, British, and American literature, I have been enjoying using Zachary Hamby’s Mythology for Teens, Searching for America, and Reaching Olympus series for 5 years, so when the publisher made an advanced copy of World Mythology for Beginners available, I was thrilled to read and review it!First, I appreciate Hamby’s introduction. It clearly defines “myth” as well as giving its function, common themes, and an explanation of its archetypal figures. I can see assigning this to students for reading and group discussion, defining the terms of this study which will take us to the stories from around the world.Next, variety reigns in this book! I read the myths in the order presented, but because they are arranged by world regions, it will be easy for me to access specific material to share with a class. Hamby has a knack for telling each myth precisely and enjoyably. It will be a useful resource to whet the mythology curiosity of my students, and the stories are short enough to be able to cover a lot of ground (literally) in just this one resource.As is Hamby’s bent, the book abounds with useful information about the literature. After each myth, there are “At a Glance”, “A Closer Look”, and “The Big Picture” sections which give us basic information about culture, theme, purpose, etc., pertaining to the myth and the society from which it sprang. This will be very helpful to me as springboards for discussion, research, and writing activities.Once again, Zachary Hamby has written a useful and engaging resource. I highly recommend it – and all his materials -- to teachers who want a creative, helpful approach to mythology.

I received an advanced copy from the publisher. Mostly, I was interested in using some texts from this book with my freshmen English students. Full disclosure, I've used materials from Hamby before, and I've found them thoughtful and relevant to not only our mythological units of study but also helpful for students. Hamby's myth scripts are good, but at times students get lost in the performance (which is cool!), so I have to coach them to stop and think about what's happening, who's involved, and what larger theme is at play.On one hand, this new book from Hamby falls short in its inclusion of myths. I wish it had more myths from the various cultures it includes.However, I understand that it could only include so many, and it does an excellent job of of including more myths from around the globe as opposed to the more common Norse and Greek myths. I love how wide-ranging it is. I also love how the myths are relatively (relative to some of Edith Hamilton's texts, which I do appreciate) short, 1-2 page myths. This makes it digestible for my students. I also enjoyed the bulleted relevance after each myth, like it provides an overview to help my students summarize what they read as well as an extension to help them relate what they read to their lives and the world.Overall, I look forward to using this text with my students as well as to fulfill some of my own mythological curiosities.