Myths & Legends
Heroes/Heroines & Villains
- What makes a hero/heroine admirable or a villain despicable?
- How has the idea of what is good and what is evil changed over time and around the world?
- Are people inherently good or inherently evil?
This graphic novel tells the story of Amaterasu, the Japanese Shinto goddess of the sun. Amaterasu's parents create the first eight islands of Japan. Amaterasu's father later puts his children in charge of parts of the natural world. Beautiful and kindly Amaterasu is made the goddess of the sun. But her brother, Susano, god of the sea and storms, is jealous of his sister's position. In fear of Susano's temper, Amaterasu hides in a cave, plunging the world into darkness. The other gods and goddesses must come up with a clever plan to lure Amaterasu from her hiding place and restore order to the world.
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From the pages of Arabian Nights comes an amazing tale of chance and adventure. Ali Baba, a poor man who makes his living selling wood, stumbles upon a secret cave where 40 bandits have been hiding priceless treasures. He enters the cave and decides to take some treasures for himself. Ali Baba’s wife is thrilled at their newfound fortune—but when she borrows a scale to weigh the riches, Ali Baba’s secret gets out. Now that the secret is revealed, will Ali Baba be able to keep his fortune? Or will the bandits get their revenge?
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King Arthur rules his realm from the shining castle of Camelot. Arthur relies on the wisdom of his wife, Guinivere, and on the bravery of his Knights of the Round Table. But dark forces are at work in Camelot. Enemies in Arthur's midst seek to take his throne. Rumors about Guinivere and Arthur's best knight and friend, Lancelot, set in motion a terrible conflict. Will Arthur fight to restore the peace in his kingdom, or is this the end of Camelot?
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Famous for his superhuman strength, Hercules is the most popular hero in Greek mythology. The son of Zeus—king of the gods—and a mortal mother, Hercules faces the wrath of Zeus's wife Hera, who resents her illegitimate stepson and vows to bring him misery. With her magical powers, she tricks Hercules into performing a series of twelve seemingly impossible labors, each one a test of his strength, courage, cunning, and fighting skill. Is Hercules strong enough to foil her scheme?
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Can two young boys outsmart and outwit the lords of death? The Hero Twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque, were blessed by the Mayan gods with special powers. But their incredible skill at playing Pok-ta-Pok, the Mayan ball game, angers the lords of Xibalba, rulers of the land of the dead. When the lords challenge them to a Pok-ta-Pok game in Xibalba, the twins know they must use all of their powers and cunning to defeat the lords’ many challenges. Will they survive the land of the dead?
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Osiris is the greatest king and god of the Land of the Nile. He is a generous ruler, and the people love and worship him—along with his wife and queen, the goddess Isis. But Osiris's jealous brother Set has a terrible plan to get rid of Osiris forever and take his place on the Egyptian throne. Will Egypt suffer under an evil tyrant? Or can Isis use her magic and her love to save Osiris and conquer Set?
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From an East African village, into the Land of the Dead: Marwe lives in a village where food is scarce. She tries to be obedient, but it's hard to spend every day working in the fields. When her carelessness ruins the village's crops, she's too scared to face her angry family and runs away - to the strange Land of the Dead. Marwe knows she doesn't belong there. But can she find the right sort of courage to return to the land of the living?
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From a life filled with heartache and hardship, comes an unmatched beauty destined for a fairy-tale ending: Pear Blossom, a young Korean girl, leads a happy life with her parents - until her mother dies and her father remarries. Her new wicked stepmother and stepsister make Pear Blossom the victim of their cruelty. They give her the nickname Pigling, or little pig, and do everything they can to torture her. But soon, magical creatures come to Pear Blossom's aid - and one day, the girl meets a handsome magistrate. Will Pear Blossom's luck change for the better? Or is she destined to suffer at her stepfamily's hands forever?
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Fooled into committing a crime by the king’s foresters, young Robin Hood finds himself branded an outlaw. As he takes refuge in Sherwood Forest, he meets other hideaways who also unjustly find themselves on the wrong side of the law. Under Robin’s leadership, these outlaws form a band of “merry men” who exact justice against the unfair laws of the land by stealing from the rich and giving their loot to the poor. Robin’s exploits soon enrage the sheriff of Nottingham, who vows to capture his foe at any cost. Will Robin Hood fall into the sheriff’s trap?
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Out of the great halls of Asgard, home of the Norse Gods...came one of the greatest Norse legends.Thor, powerful god of thunder, and his brother Loki, the trickster, were eager to resolve an argument: Does strength always win, or do brains always beat brawn? To find an answer, they travel to the strange and forbidding land of giants. There they will face a series of challenges that will prove once and for all which god is right. Or will it?
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This graphic novel tells the legend of Yu the Great, a Chinese hero from the twenty-first century B.C. Some scholars believe Yu actually existed and that he founded the Xia Dynasty, the first Chinese empire described in historical records. Some later Chinese texts describe Yu as a kind and strong emperor whose engineering projects saved China from frequent floods. But in Chinese legend, as in this book, Yu is descended from the gods and born from a golden dragon. He saves China from floods by using magical soil to plug underwater springs, with the help of a tortoise, an owl, and a dragon.
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