Saint Valentine the Kindhearted: The History and Legends of God’s Brave and Loving Servant

Written and Illustrated by Ned Bustard

This picture book presents an interesting review of what is known about Saint Valentine.

Bustard is both the author and illustrator. I particularly enjoyed the illustrations done in woodcut style and then embellished with bright colors.

The story is presented in rhyme. Each part is a kind of vignette about different aspects of Valentine’s life. They include his experiences with individuals as well as soldiers and the Emperor Claudius. Despite imprisonment, Valentine continued to write his poetry about the four types of love and sent some of them as lettters. Hence, the origin of sending Valentine’s on the date of his martyrdom, February 14th.

I believe this book will have wide appeal with Christian schools and parents

Reviewed by Barbara Mojica for Net Galley.

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Greek Mythology: The complete guide to Greek Mythology, Ancient Greece, Greek Gods, Zeus, Hercules, Titans, and more!

Written by Nick Plesiotis

That title is quite a mouthful! This kindle book will give the reader a bird’s eye view of Greek mythology, its history, and a few examples. Greek myths have been around since approximately 900 B.C. They played an extraordinary role in the growth of politics, religion, and social life of the ancient world. Much of our modern day literature reflects their influence.

The author divides the Greek mythological world into three periods: the age of the Gods, the age of Gods and Mortals, and the Age of Heroes. He explains the ancient Greek religion and gives a brief summary of the gods and their equivalents in later Roman mythology. Then Plesiotis goes into detail about some of the more popular heroes like Hercules and the twelve labors he was forced to perform. One chapter explores the Trojan War and the famous Trojan horse ploy used to defeat the Spartans. Prometheus is a Titan who was particularly close to mankind. The author describes how this Titan bestowed the gifts of fire, husbandry, and metalwork upon man.

This twenty some odd page digital book is my no means a definitive guide, but is a great reference for a middle grade school report or introduction to further exploration of Greek and Roman mythology. It would have benefited from a few illustrations to accompany the stories, but I would still recommend this book as a well-written clear reference guide for children and adults age eight and up who have an interest in the subject.

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