Claire Martin (1)

The youngest of three brothers, Boots is made to do all of the nastiest chores around the farm by his elders in this picture-book retelling of a Norwegian folktale. When Midsummer comes, he is sent to guard his father's field against the mysterious pillager that had come in the night, in previous years. With the steel tinderbox given to him by his mother, he tames the magical white troll horse which appears, going on to do the same the following year, and the one after that. With gorgeous white, chestnut and black stallions, and three beautiful suits of armor—made of copper, silver and gold, respectively—Boots wins the hand of the king's daughter, offered to the man who can ride up a glass mountain to fetch her, and her three golden apples...

Having greatly enjoyed author Claire Martin's only other picture-book—The Race of the Golden Apples, which retells the myth of Atalanta and her race with Hippomenes—I was looking forward to Boots & The Glass Mountain, especially as I love illustrator Gennady Spirin's artwork. I was not disappointed, finding the story here engaging, and the illustrations beautiful. Although there was no author's note regarding source (a disappointment), WorldCat lists this with the subject heading "Folklore-Norway," leading me to believe it is a retelling of Jomfruen på glassberget (The Princess on the Glass Hill), collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in their Norske Folkeeventyr (Norwegian Folktales). There are many variants of this tale type from around Europe, and it seems to have been particularly popular in Germany, Poland and Russia. In any case, I found this telling quite entertaining, although Martin appears to have added a troll element not present in the original. Recommended to young fairy and folktale enthusiasts, and to any reader who appreciates beautiful picture-book art.… (mehr)

The Greek myth of Atalanta, the abandoned daughter of King Iasus, who is raised in the wild by Crona the she-bear, and watched over by the goddess Diana, is told in picture-book form here by author Claire Martin and illustrators Leo and Diane Dillon. Eventually returning to the human world, Atalanta is accepted by her father, who hopes to arrange a marriage for her. Cold-hearted, as the result of her early abandonment and the slaughter of her bear relatives, swift-footed Atalanta stipulates that she will only marry the man who can beat her in a race. When Hippomenes - the young man who slew Atalanta's bear-sibling years before, thinking her in danger - sees her again, he falls in love, and determines to win her. Beseeching the help of Venus, Hippomenes enters the race with three golden apples, whose strategic use will win him his heart's desire...

There are a number of different myths about Atalanta, depending upon the classical source. In some accounts, she accompanies the Argonauts on their quest for the Golden Fleece, while in many tellings, she is also a participant in the hunt for the Calydonian boar. The story of her race with Hippomenes, and the use of the three golden apples of Venus/Aphrodite seems to be the one that is most often retold however, particularly in the pages of children's literature. The Race of the Golden Apples, one of only two titles from Claire Martin - the other being Boots and the Glass Mountain - is the second picture-book retelling of this story that I have read, following upon Shirley Climo's Atalanta's Race: A Greek Myth. On the whole, I liked it better than the Climo title, enjoying both Martin's retelling and the gorgeous artwork of the Dillons. Unlike a friend of mine, I was not bothered by the use of some Roman names here - Diana rather than Artemis, Venus rather than Aphrodite - as this tale is taken from Ovid's Metamorphoses, and no doubt reflects the mixture of Greek and Roman names used in that work. Recommended to young mythology lovers, and to anyone who appreciates the Dillons' amazing illustrative work.… (mehr)