New Book: Echo Echo: Reverso Poems About Greek Myths by Marilyn Singer

O wonderful, wonderful, and most wonderful wonderful! And yet again wonderful, and after that, out of all hooping.

Yes, it is a little strange to use Shakespeare to discuss a new book about Greek myths but it perfectly describes my happiness about this new release. Echo Echo: Reverso Poems About Greek Myths by Marilyn Singer (Author) and Josee Masse (Illustrator) is officially released today. This makes the third offering by this team. I have gushed over their earlier two books plenty of times, see New Book: Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse by Marilyn Singer and New Release: Follow Follow: A Book of Reverso Poems by Marilyn Singer to read about those.

Well, this book doesn't use fairy tales but mythology for inspiration. Remember, you can click on images to see them larger and to read the sample pages of poems I am sharing here.

Book description:

A new book of unique reversible poems based on Greek myths from the creator of Mirror Mirror

What happens when you hold up a mirror to poems about Greek myths? You get a brand-new perspective on the classics! And that is just what happens in Echo Echo, the newest collection of reverso poems from Marilyn Singer. Read one way, each poem tells the story of a familiar myth; but when read in reverse, the poems reveal a new point of view! Readers will delight in uncovering the dual points of view in well-known legends, including the stories of Pandora’s box, King Midas and his golden touch, Perseus and Medusa, Pygmalion, Icarus and Daedalus, Demeter and Persephone, and Echo and Narcissus.

These cunning verses combine with beautiful illustrations to create a collection of fourteen reverso poems to treasure.

This means that the reading the poem in one direction tells the story from one perspective. Then reading the reverso poem gives a different character's perspectives on the events of the tale or myth. It makes an excellent classroom book for teaching writing, perspective, fairy tales, so much!

Here's an excerpt from the Little Mermaid poem from a previous book that illustrates:

For love,
give up your voice.
Don't
Think twice.

And in reverse:

Think twice!
Don't
Give up your voice
for love.

Finally, the poems are enhanced by Josée Masse's illustrations once again. The bright colors and opposites portrayed are charming and will pull in younger readers. I love them myself. And really, this book is for all ages, especially who enjoys clever writing and stories, in this case mythology in particular.

And I will be sharing this book with the Kensie niece who is currently enthralled with all things mythological. She even got an Athena costume for her birthday a few weeks ago. She will especially love this two page spread: