The Storyteller's Goddess: Tales of the Goddess and Her Wisdom from Around the World

Rating:
Summary: Fun, enchanting, and magical!
Review: I desperately wanted to like this book. I think that books like this are vital and need to be written. I love stories of the goddess and fairy tales in general. When they miss their mark, however, it is very disappointing.

The premise is excellent - retellings and new stories of the goddess prefaced with an introduction to each story. While there are one or two gems, most of the stories are either just fair or feel incomplete. All of the stories are very short - just a few pages each - some only two pages. Those stories feel like they are missing a bridge or link to what the author is trying to convey. Some of the stories do not follow conventional mythology (like referring to Horus as Osiris) and that can be very confusing if you have a strong background in mythology. The stories that worked best for me were the ones where I was not familiar with the goddess or culture.

The stories were meant to be read aloud. I think they lose something in simply reading them. It would be interesting if the author put out an audio tape and presented her work as it was meant to be enjoyed.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I desperately wanted to like this book. I think that books like this are vital and need to be written. I love stories of the goddess and fairy tales in general. When they miss their mark, however, it is very disappointing.

The premise is excellent - retellings and new stories of the goddess prefaced with an introduction to each story. While there are one or two gems, most of the stories are either just fair or feel incomplete. All of the stories are very short - just a few pages each - some only two pages. Those stories feel like they are missing a bridge or link to what the author is trying to convey. Some of the stories do not follow conventional mythology (like referring to Horus as Osiris) and that can be very confusing if you have a strong background in mythology. The stories that worked best for me were the ones where I was not familiar with the goddess or culture.

The stories were meant to be read aloud. I think they lose something in simply reading them. It would be interesting if the author put out an audio tape and presented her work as it was meant to be enjoyed.

Rating:
Summary: The Goddess comes alive in this wonderful collection
Review: The many aspects and legends of the Goddess are beautifully, and imaginatively retold by Carolyn McVickar Edwards. She provides readers with 39 Goddess stories from 27 different cultures. She arranges these stories into seven categories, such as, All in All: Healing the split (the Goddess as both light and dark -- which includes Goddesses such as, Pele, Ereshkigal, and Hecate), or, Spirit Incarnate: Goddess as Earth and Body (including Goddesses such as, Freya, Kuan Yin, and Sedna). The author has added six new stories in this second edition as well as reworked many of her original ones. Edwards took some of the stories straight from Merlin Stone's book, Ancient Mirrors of Womanhood. Others, she puts a more modern spin on. Some she created from bits and pieces of information, concepts and images. The book is feminocentric, but not exclusionary towards men. It's lessons (such as religious tolerance, equality, ecology) are imparted in a sensitive, not preachy manner. The stories are beautiful to read both aloud or quietly. Many, but not all, are appropriate to read to children. All can be use in group discussions, or for ritual celebrations. If you are involved in Goddess spirituality, are a storyteller seeking good material, or are just interested in exploring Goddess lore, you'll find this book to be pure enchantment.

Rating:
Summary: Fun, enchanting, and magical!
Review: This book is utterly fabulous! A wonderful selection of Goddess Myth stories from around the world that cross cultural and linguistic barriers.

A wonderful gift to give yourself, a child, or any adult. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Tales of the Goddess
Review: _The Storyteller's Goddess_ makes a wonderful addition to any Goddess-lover's library. Carolyn Edwards adapts many Goddess myths from around the world, shaping them into brief stories that read more like fairy tales than religion. It works wonderfully; Edwards' stories touch a reader's heart more deeply than a hundred dogmatic, left-brained Goddess books could ever do.

Rating:
Summary: Tales of the Goddess
Review: _The Storyteller's Goddess_ makes a wonderful addition to any Goddess-lover's library. Carolyn Edwards adapts many Goddess myths from around the world, shaping them into brief stories that read more like fairy tales than religion. It works wonderfully; Edwards' stories touch a reader's heart more deeply than a hundred dogmatic, left-brained Goddess books could ever do.