Reviews (14)

The Gilgamesh Trilogy - Gilgamesh for Kids
Gilgamesh the King:
Still looking...
While this version is certainly accessible to children, I don't agree with many of the liberties the author took with any of these stories in the series.The many translations out there for adults at least attempt to stay true to the story.I regret that I cannot share these more accurate versions with my younger kids because of the description of at least one particular excerpt; I've had to settle for these.I believe if a person is going to adapt a classic to suit children that one should keep true to the story as best as possible, not adding and creating their own useless elements to the story.The Epic itself is wonderful, but I am still looking for an appropriate version that retains most of the original elements.I do appreciate the efforts of the author to share this amazing story with children.

a must-read for ancient history students!
If you are studying ancient history with your elementary student, you must read this series of Gilgamesh books by Ms. Zeman.This one is the first of 3.It is a great story of love, loyalty, and greatness, the oldest written story in the world, and is wonderfully illustrated.I orginally borrowed them from our local library and then purchased them because my 6 year old loved them so much. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adaptations    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    3. Children: Grades 3-4    4. Folklore    5. Gilgamesh    6. Iraq    7. Juvenile Fiction    8. Legends, Myths, & Fables - General    9. Legends, Myths, & Fables - Other    10. Juvenile Fiction / Legends, Myths, Fables / Other   

Reviews (3)

The Gilgamesh Trilogy - Gilgamesh for Kids
Gilgamesh the King
Great series!
We really appreciate the beauty of this series of books as it covers "The Epic of Gilgamesh" in an appropriate and accessible way for our children. We love to use actual historic documents in our study if possible, but the actual epic is too uncomfortably graphic even for our older children, so we use these for everyone as we study Mesopotamia, Sumer and Babylon. There are not many books that cover these Near East cultures, which makes this set especially valuable. Along with "Our Young Folks' Josephus" as our history spine, "Science in Ancient Mesopotamia" and "Ancient Egyptians and their Neighbors: An Activity Guide (covering Hittites, Nubians, Mesopopotamians and Egyptians) this series helps considerably to round out our ancient history studies and to teach our children about one of the most ancient tales in the world in a beautifully engaging way.

Buy all three
My children and I are beginning a study of ancient civilizations and I bought the three Gilgamesh books to expand our coverage of ancient Sumer.These books are just amazing! The story itself is powerful but I wonderedhow the author was going to tone down some of the violence; not to mentionthe fact that Shamat was a prostitute in other versions. Ludmilla Zeman hasbrought this story to children with intensity and grace that comes as acomplete surprise. I especially liked her painting of the chaste kissbetween Shamat and Enkidu with the explanation that Shamat taught Enkidu tospeak and together they explored the ways of love. Very tender. Read more

Subjects:  1. Adaptations    2. Children's 9-12 - Picturebooks    3. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    4. Children: Grades 3-4    5. Fairy Tales & Folklore - Single Title    6. Folklore    7. Gilgamesh    8. Iraq    9. Juvenile Nonfiction    10. Legends, Myths, & Fables - Other    11. Reference - General    12. Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic    13. Juvenile Fiction / Legends, Myths, Fables / Other   

Reviews (3)

The Gilgamesh Trilogy - Gilgamesh for Kids
Gilgamesh the King
Wonderful Book Series!
We really appreciate the beauty of this series of books as it covers "The Epic of Gilgamesh" in an appropriate and accessible way for our children. We love to use actual historic documents in our study if possible, but the actual epic is too uncomfortably graphic even for our older children, so we use these for everyone as we study Mesopotamia, Sumer and Babylon. There are not many books that cover these Near East cultures, which makes this set especially valuable. Along with "Our Young Folks' Josephus" as our history spine, "Science in Ancient Mesopotamia" and "Ancient Egyptians and their Neighbors: An Activity Guide (covering Hittites, Nubians, Mesopopotamians and Egyptians) this series helps considerably to round out our ancient history studies and to teach our children about one of the most ancient tales in the world in a beautifully engaging way.

Buy all three
My children and I are beginning a study of ancient civilizations and I bought the three Gilgamesh books to expand our coverage of ancient Sumer.These books are just amazing! The story itself is powerful but I wonderedhow the author was going to tone down some of the violence; not to mentionthe fact that Shamat was a prostitute in other versions. Ludmilla Zeman hasbrought this story to children with intensity and grace that comes as acomplete surprise. I especially liked her painting of the chaste kissbetween Shamat and Enkidu with the explanation that Shamat taught Enkidu tospeak and together they explored the ways of love. Very tender. Read more

Subjects:  1. Adaptations    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    3. Children: Grades 3-4    4. Folklore    5. Gilgamesh    6. Gilgamesh (Legendary character    7. Gilgamesh (Legendary character)    8. Iraq    9. Juvenile Fiction    10. Legends    11. Legends, Myths, & Fables - General    12. Legends, Myths, & Fables - Other    13. Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic    14. Juvenile Fiction / Legends, Myths, Fables / Other   

Reviews (1)

Charming Art
The art in this book is very charming, but we found the story-telling to be a bit stiff in places.Still, it's a great way to introduce younger children to Sindbad. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Action & Adventure    2. Action & Adventure - General    3. Arab countries    4. Children's 4-8 - Picturebooks    5. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction    6. Children: Grades 1-2    7. Classics    8. Fairy Tales & Folklore - Single Title    9. Fairy tales    10. Folklore    11. Juvenile Fiction    12. Legends, Myths, & Fables - General    13. Legends, Myths, & Fables - Other    14. Juvenile Fiction / Legends, Myths, Fables / Other   

Reviews (2)

Great Continuation
We very much liked how smoothly this volume carries on the story in Zeman's Sindbad series.Very nice introductions to Sindbad for younger children.

Filled with suspense and comedy
Sindbad In The Land Of Giants is a wonderful retelling of a classic fairytale adventure drawn from the "Arabian Nights". Sinbad is not long on his voyage of adventure when his ship is overrun by monkeys. To escape, the crew abandons the ship and rows toward a mysterious island where they find that the "rocky" beach is actually covered in bones! A terrible, man-eating giant captures the Sinbad and his crew, and begins to prepare to eat them for his dinner. Sinbad and some of his comrades are able to escape, but danger lurks around every turn. It will take all of Sinbad's cunning, courage and luck to return safely to Baghdad! Ludmila Zeman is a master storyteller and a superb artist who is able to provide young readers ages 6 and older with a delightful storybook experience filled with suspense and comedy. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Action & Adventure - General    2. Arab countries    3. Arabs    4. Children's 4-8 - Picturebooks    5. Children: Grades 1-2    6. Fairy Tales & Folklore - Asian    7. Fairy Tales & Folklore - Single Title    8. Fairy tales    9. Folklore    10. Juvenile Fiction    11. Legends, Myths, & Fables - Other    12. Juvenile Fiction / Legends, Myths, Fables / Other   

Reviews (1)

Engaging, entertaining reading
Author/illustrator Ludmilla Zeman's, Sindbad's Secret is a brilliantly illustrated picture book based on the enduring Arabian classic "The Thousand and One Nights." Sinbad's perilous journey, a crisis, and the unexpected rewards of showing compassion to a baby elephant, make for engaging, entertaining reading. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Arab countries    2. Arabs    3. Children's All Ages - Literature    4. Children's Books/All Ages    5. Children: Grades 2-3    6. Fairy tales    7. Folklore    8. Juvenile Fiction    9. Legends, Myths, & Fables - Other    10. Juvenile Fiction / Legends, Myths, Fables / Other   

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    2. Children: Grades 2-3    3. Foreign Language Study - General    4. General    5. Juvenile Nonfiction    6. Foreign Language Study / French   

Subjects:  1. Arab countries    2. Fairy tales    3. Folklore    4. Juvenile Fiction    5. Legends, Myths, & Fables - General    6. Spanish: Grades 3-4   

Subjects:  1. Children's 9-12    2. Children: Grades 3-4    3. Foreign Language Study - General    4. General    5. Juvenile Nonfiction    6. Foreign Language Study / French   

Subjects:  1. Children's 4-8 - Picturebooks    2. Fairy Tales & Folklore - Asian    3. Foreign Language Study    4. French    5. Language    6. Foreign Language Study / French   

Subjects:  1. Canada    2. Children's 4-8 - Picturebooks    3. Children: Grades 4-6    4. Fairy Tales & Folklore - Single Title    5. Fiction    6. History - Ancient    7. Juvenile Nonfiction    8. Legends, Myths, & Fables - Other    9. Maple    10. Maple leaf (Emblem)    11. Nature & the Natural World - Trees    12. Seasons    13. Juvenile Fiction / Legends, Myths, Fables / Other   

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    2. Children: Grades 3-4    3. Foreign Language Study - General    4. French    5. Juvenile Nonfiction    6. Foreign Language Study / French   

Subjects:  1. Action & Adventure    2. Action & Adventure - General    3. Children's 4-8    4. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction    5. Children: Kindergarten    6. Classics    7. Fairy Tales & Folklore - Single Title    8. Foreign Language Study - General    9. Juvenile Nonfiction    10. Foreign Language Study / French   

Subjects:  1. Fairy Tales & Folklore - General    2. Folklore    3. Iraq    4. Juvenile Fiction    5. Legends, Myths, & Fables - General    6. Spanish language materials    7. Spanish: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)