Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Isis & Osiris: To the Ends of the Earth

This retelling of the ancient Egyptian myth of Isis and Osiris is rendered in dynamic fashion by David Witt, an accomplished artist whose work has shown up in t-shirts, comics, rock posters, Guitar Hero II, and art exhibitions. The narrative was laid out by Jeff Limke, a frequent contributor to Lerner Publishing's Graphic Universe imprint. Limke has worked in comics for a long while, as chronicled in this interview, and has also been a high school teacher.

The myth presented here deals with Isis and Osiris , who are wife and husband as well as sister and brother, having to contend with their jealous brother Set. Set tricks Osiris into a sarcophagus and kills him. Isis finds his body and sets out to resurrect him, but Set discovers this and cuts his brother into 14 parts and scatters them about. Isis eventually recovers most of his body and brings him back, much in the same fashion of the Egyptian mummification process. After defeating Set, Osiris becomes the final judge in the afterlife, determining who is good and evil.

As with other books in the Graphic Universe series, there is a glossary, pronunciation guide, and other resources that would be helpful in using this book with students. It has received decent ratings on Goodreads and Amazon. The editorial reviews on Amazon, from Booklist and The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, point out some story drawbacks as well as the vivid artwork and their potential appeal for young readers.

A preview is provided by Lerner Publishing.

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