PERSEPHONE

When Hades sees Persephone gathering flowers in a field, he carries her off to the underworld to be his queen. Her mother Demeter is so distraught that she curses Earth with endless winter. With intervention from Zeus and other gods, Persephone is found and rejoins her mother. But she ate pomegranate seeds while in the underworld and so must spend three months each year with Hades, during which time winter occurs above ground. This pourquoi tale from ancient Greek mythology has everything to recommend it to modern readers. Clayton employs vivid imagery, powerful emotions and loads of action to convey adventure, grief, love, drama and the circle of life. Dialogue is crisp and accessible, while retaining just a hint of the formality expected of gods and goddesses. Lee’s imaginative illustrations, detailed in glowing earth tones and sweeping across double-page spreads, complement the action. In depicting the characters, she borrows features from Greek statues but manages to give them humanity. A beautiful retelling of an enduring myth. (Picture book/mythology. 7-10)