Goddesses: A World of Myth and Magic

Beautiful illustrations, coupled with concise, informative overviews of each goddess listed. A wonderful celebration of powerful women, and worth the money simply for the pictures. A good buy for anyone interested in mythology.

This book, listing major goddesses all over the world, is one of my favorite non-fiction books. The information about each is the important things that you will want to know, covering details quickly and keeping things interesting. The pictures are beautiful, contributing greatly to the reading experience. Anyone who loves myths or magic will certainly love this book! A good coffee table book- you can glance through it; reading it slowly actually adds to the experience.

Even though my daughter is a bit old for a picture book, she was delighted by "Goddesses: A World of Myth and Magic" by Burleigh Muten. The text is concise, the prununciation keys useful and the illustrations by Rebecca Guay are compelling, lush, sensual and joyful. This book introduces almost forgotten goddesses and features those more familiar as well, from all points of the globe. My only quibble with the book is that the European goddesses are overly represented. I'm sure that with a little more research a fair representation of the rich goddess traditions from around the world would have been easy to accomplish. I still give it 5 stars because it is a wonderful book.

Rebecca Guay's illustrations really brings to life a diverse range of goddess myths. Her beautiful depictions of the various goddesses and female archetypes give them each distinct personalities. It's the kind of book that you want to linger over again and again. Heartily recommended.

Organized in alphabetical order, this well-researched, richly illustrated volume introduces readers to over one hundred goddesses from around the world and across time. In addition to the better-known Greek and Roman goddesses, we learn also of the Indian goddess of knowledge, Sarasvati, a "gentle and graceful young woman who rides on the back of a peacock or swan" and invented poetry, literature, and music. Moving to the west we find Olwen, the goddess of sunlight, who "opened the blossoms of all flowering trees and plants" for the people of Wales. Each entry provides a description of the goddess, her powers, and often a telling anecdote or story. Thoughtfully, the author has included a list of goddesses by country, culture, and domain. The exquisitely detailed, jewel-tone illustrations combine with the flowing, elegant text to create a beautiful celebration, not only of goddesses, but of womankind as well. Highly recommended.Reviewed by the Education Oasis staff.