The Gilgamesh Trilogy - Gilgamesh for Kids

books:

	• Gilgamesh the King (Gilgamesh Trilogy, The) Ludmila Zeman Tundra Books, 1998 - 24 pages average customer review:based on 14 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

Wonderful Series!

We really appreciate the beauty of this series of books as it covers "The Epic of Gilgamesh" in an appropriate and accessible way for our children. We love to use actual historic documents in our study if possible, but the actual epic is too uncomfortably graphic even for our older children, so we use these for everyone as we study Mesopotamia, Sumer and Babylon. There are not many books that cover these Near East cultures, which makes this set especially valuable. Along with "Our Young Folks' Josephus" as our history spine, "Science in Ancient Mesopotamia" and "Ancient Egyptians and their Neighbors: An Activity Guide (covering Hittites, Nubians, Mesopopotamians and Egyptians) this series helps considerably to round out our ancient history studies and to teach our children about one of the most ancient tales in the world in a beautifully engaging way.

for more information click here

a must-read for ancient history students!

If you are studying ancient history with your elementary student, you must read this series of Gilgamesh books by Ms. Zeman. This one is the first of 3. It is a great story of love, loyalty, and greatness, the oldest written story in the world, and is wonderfully illustrated. I orginally borrowed them from our local library and then purchased them because my 6 year old loved them so much.

for more information click here

Wonderful!

Gilgamesh the King, The Return of Ishtar, and The Last Quest of Gilgamesh are exceedingly well-written and show many different themes and life lessons. The themes of friendship, revenge, good vs. evil, ambition, and immortality. But I think the most essential, underlying message is about love. Enkidu shows love to Shamhat and Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh shows love to Enkidu and his city, Shamhat shows love to Enkidu, and the city shows love to Gilgamesh, Enkidu and Shamhat! Love is woven into the theme of eternal life. I think these stories would be fabulous for anybody but recommended for 5-12. I am in middle school and we are reading these stories in class. I enjoyed these stories tremendously. So if you want to teach your children about death or love or friendship, these would be the ultimate choice.

for more information click here

Still looking...

While this version is certainly accessible to children, I don't agree with many of the liberties the author took with any of these stories in the series. The many translations out there for adults at least attempt to stay true to the story. I regret that I cannot share these more accurate versions with my younger kids because of the description of at least one particular excerpt; I've had to settle for these. I believe if a person is going to adapt a classic to suit children that one should keep true to the story as best as possible, not adding and creating their own useless elements to the story. The Epic itself is wonderful, but I am still looking for an appropriate version that retains most of the original elements. I do appreciate the efforts of the author to share this amazing story with children.

for more information click here

The Gilgamesh Trilogy - Gilgamesh for Kids

Gilgamesh the King:

"Gilgamesh was part god and part man. He looked human, but he did not know what it was to be human." And that was his trouble, for he lacked empathy and forced his people to build a monument to his pride in the form of a huge wall.

The people sought help from the Sun God who ordered that a man Gilgamesh's equal be created. When Gilgamesh is told of this wild man, Enkidu, "the strongest man in the world," he seeks to destroy him.

Will the people of Uruk ever have rest from their toils? Can Enkidu survive?

Recommended for eight to twelve year olds, this book is the first in a three part series. The illustrations are done Mesopotamian style and add to the story. An author's note on the last page gives some back-ground information on the story of Mesopotamia, Uruk, and how the tale of Gilgamesh came down to us.

The Revenge of Ishtar

The Last Quest of Gilgamesh

for more information click here

reviews: page 1, 2, 3

Gilgamesh, half-god and half-man, in his loneliness and isolation becomes a cruel tyrant over the citizens of Uruk. To impress them forever he orders a great wall to be built, driving his people to exhaustion and despair so that they cry to the Sun God for help. In answer, another kind of man, Enkidu, is sent to earth to live among the animals and learn kindness from them. He falls in love with Shamhat, a singer from the temple, and he follows her back to Uruk. There, Enkidu, the ?uncivilized? beast from the forest, shows the evil Gilgamesh through friendship what it means to be human.

for more information click here

hot