Review by Booklist Review
Ages 6^-8. Lavishly illustrated in a romantic style, this picture book tells the story of King Midas and the golden touch. The author acknowledges as her inspiration Nathaniel Hawthorne's retelling of the Greek myth, though adults will discern a Victorian influence in the sweet, rather sentimental portrait of the king's daughter. Artist Craft "has been influenced by other sources," citing her use of eighth-century Anatolian artifacts for geometric motifs and the Middle Ages as a setting for the tale. Children will find the book a clear, smoothly written version of the story, accompanied by richly colored and elaborately detailed scenes of grandeur, drama, and magic. --Carolyn Phelan
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The mother-daughter team structures this adaptation like a fairly tale and take their inspiration from Nathaniel Hawthorne's retelling of the Greek myth. PW called it "a regal treatment." Ages 5-up. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-4-Like the previous Craft collaboration, Cupid and Psyche (Morrow, 1996), this gloriously and elaborately illustrated Midas is faithful to the myth (in Hawthorne's redaction). A sharp eye will spot a few Anatolian visual clues in an otherwise baroquely splendid fantasy of a medieval court, rendered in meticulous detail. Excess never looked better. Libraries with budgets of gold might want both this volume and John Stewig's King Midas (Holiday, 1999), illustrated by Omar Rayyan: they make a fascinating and instructive pair. Lacking the Midas touch, librarians must choose between the essentially conservative Craft approach, as unsurprising and toothsome as Turkish delight, and Stewig's much more flavorful and inventive recipe. If readers want the Hollywood spectacular, Craft is for them, but the innovative team of Stewig and Rayyan would get my vote in a heartbeat.-Patricia Lothrop-Green, St. George's School, Newport, RI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
This sophisticated retelling, set in the Middle Ages, places King Midas in a sumptuous palace and portrays him as a goodhearted, devoted father with an unfortunate obsession for gold. The elaborate oil-over-watercolor illustrations show the wondrous, tragic effects of the golden touch, as Midas's bedcovers, his garden, and then his daughter turn gradually to gold before the reader's eyes. From HORN BOOK Fall 1999, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The familiar tale of King Midas gets the golden touch in the hands of Craft and Craft (Cupid and Psyche, 1996). The author takes her inspiration from Nathaniel Hawthorne's retelling, capturing the essence of the tale with the use of pithy dialogue and colorful description. Enchanting in their own right, the illustrations summon the Middle Ages as a setting, and incorporate colors so lavish that when they are lost to the uniform gold spurred by King Midas's touch, the point of the story is further burnished. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
