Gilgamesh the King

Lo compré con la intensión de tener por fin los 3 tomos. La calidad es muy buena, las imágenes, ni qué decir, hermosas.Lo que no me gustó es que sí son muy delgados, son tipo cuadernillo. Aunque estoy consciente de que es para niños. Yo lo compré ya que lo leí cuando era puberto y me encantó, junto las imágenes,las imágenes me hicieron volar mi imaginación y hoy ya adulto me animé a comprarlo junto con los otros dos tomos.

I wasn’t sure about picking this book as a bed time story for a 4yo and 2yo but wow! They both sat with wrapped attention and were completely captivated.They were absolutely not ready for the story to be over. My 2 yo loved it so much he didn’t want to let me put it away. He wanted to enjoy the lovely illustrations over and over on his own.Glad I bought the sequel for tomorrow night.

Conozco este libro de la colección (son una trilogía) y es una preciosidad. Los dibujos son impresionantes y el texto, basado en la historia de Gilgamesh es muy bueno (en inglés). Se trata de un libro (cuaderno ilustrado) difícil de conseguir, muy caro o de segunda mano. Pedí los otros dos que llegaron sin problemas, pero este último viene de otra tienda, no de Amazon, a la que he comprado varias veces otros libros sin problemas. Esta vez no hubo suerte, se envió por Royal mail...nunca ha llegado. Voy a pedirlo a amazon.com para ver si lo consigo. Me han hecho un reembolso sin problemas. El servicio de Amazon, como siempre impecable.

It was enjoyable to read Zeman's interpretation of Mesopotamian myths. She did a great job retelling the story in an interesting yet child-appropriate way. We got all three books in the series and read them all on evening. The illustrations are beautiful. A hardcover would make a beautiful gift if they were not so expensive and hard to find.

Age Recommendation: 8 - up; Around eight children start to develop a taste in historical books, such as legends. Gilgamesh is a not as well-known epic about the Mesopotamia region. The picture book is also part of a three book series.Summary: Gilgamesh was sent by the Sun God to rule over the city of Uruk. He was part god, and part man. He did not have any friends, and was a cruel king. He decided to build a wall around his city. The people in his city originally supported his wall, but eventually grew tired and frustrated. His people prayed to the Sun God, and the sun god sent Enkidu. Enkidu lived with the animals, and was a good man. Enkidu prevented a man from killing an animal with his god-like strength. The man told Gilgamesh about Enkidu's strength, and Gilgamesh was furious. Gilgamesh sends a beautiful singer to the woods to lure Enkidu to the city. Gilgamesh wanted to kill him in front of the city to reinforce his reputation. The beautiful singer and Enkidu fell in love. Enkidu left the forest and his animal friends, and went to the city to challenge Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh and En kidu fought, but were equal in strength. Gilgamesh tripped, and would have died if Enkidu did not save him. After Enkidu saved Gilgamesh, they became friends. Once Gilgamesh had a friend, he stopped work on the wall, and there was peace in the city.Critical Review: Gilgamesh the King is written and illustrated by Ludmila Zeman. Zeman begins the picture book in the expected, "Long ago in the land of... " which sets the stage for a traditional folktale (p. 1). The illustrations also support the folktale, by using `ancient' looking images. The colors also look gold based, which makes the images look older. The images bring the words to life. For example, when the story is talking about all the men in the city building a giant wall around the city. You can see the magnitude of people, and the height of the huge wall (p. 3-4). Without any words, it would still be very easy to tell the epic of Gilgamesh based on the pictures. Although this story is part of a trilogy, it can stand alone. It has closure, and tells a complete story. Also, some historical information about the epic of Gilgamesh is included after the story. I appreciate the use of rhetorical questions throughout the text. For example, after Enkidu sees a man killing an animal, he asks himself, "Why would anyone want to do that?" (p. 6). The text includes both more complex sentences. For example, "The earth shook and lightning flashed across the sky, as if the gods themselves were fighting for control of the world" (p. 16). The text also includes short, simple sentences. For example, "He was no longer alone. He had found a friend" (p. 19). The longer sentences tell an elaborate story, while the shorter sentences focus on the meaning of the sentences. The book kept me engaged as a college student, and I think an intermediate reader would definitely be interested in the historical significance of one of the first epics ever written down, and the action of the folktale itself.