Kathy Henderson (3) (1949–)

Incorporating two ancient Sumerian poems - written down on clay tablets approximately 5,000 years ago, and rediscovered in the nineteenth century, they were only recently (in the 1970s) translated - Kathy Henderson tells the tale of Lugalbanda, a prince of the Mesopotamian city of Uruk, and (eventually) the father of the epic hero Gilgamesh. The oldest written story on earth (as far as our scholarship extends thus far), it incorporates characters and creatures from Sumerian mythology, and show more concerns a war being waged by Lugalbanda's father, King Enmerkar, who is determined to conquer the beautiful city of Aratta, and use its treasures to glorify Uruk, and its patron goddess, Inanna.

Lugalbanda, who insists on accompanying his father's army on their trek to Aratta, becomes ill in the mountains, and is left behind in a cave by his loving brothers. Beseeching the gods and goddesses of the Sumerian pantheon for aid, he is cured, and, in his own inimitable style, then wins the favor of the powerful Anzu birds, who help him on his journey to retake his father's army, and who give him those blessings - such as the ability to run without becoming tired - that allow him to aid King Enmerkar, and prevent the utter destruction of Arrata.

A fascinating story in its own right, Lugalbanda's tale also has the distinction of being both ancient and new, and the dizzying sense of discovery such stories always give me (I felt this most recently with The Dark Star of Itza: The Story of a Pagan Princess, which introduced me to an epic tale from the ancient Mayan civilization) made the reading experience a powerful one! My friend Miriam, who recommended this to me (many, many thanks, Miriam!), highlighted many of the appealing aspects of the story itself in her own excellent review, with which I am in complete agreement, but the artwork also deserves a mention, as I found it immensely engaging as well. Jane Ray has done quite a bit of work with fairy-tales and mythology, and her style, with its copious uses of golden accents, seems very well suited to the story here. I liked her depictions of the men of Uruk, and of Innana, but my favorite painting was the one in which Lugalbanda, lying on his side, looks out on the world from his cave.

This is just a wonderful, wonderful book, and although a picture-book, one I would recommend to anyone, young or old, who is interested in ancient Sumer, or ancient epics in general. The author's afterword is quite interesting, but now I'm hungry for more! Have the translations she mentioned been collected in an anthology of some kind? Clearly I need to do more research. Also, clearly I need to reread Gilgamesh! show less

Gram and Joe go to the vegetable patch in this charming picture-book celebration of the seasons, the natural world - specifically, the "good brown earth - and the pleasure of gardening. As Gram turns to each task at its appointed time - digging, thinking, planting, and weeding - Joe follows his own path, sowing wildly and playing often. Despite their different methods, however, the "good brown earth got on with doing what the good brown earth does best," resulting in a bounteous crop and a show more happy pair...

I enjoyed Kathy Henderson's And the Good Brown Earth, finding both the simple but poetic text, and the mixed-media illustrations, very appealing. The repetition of the line about the good brown earth makes for an effective refrain, bringing the narrative back, again and again, to the earth itself. The artwork has a lovely impressionistic quality that suits the story. I did wonder at the fact that Gram and Joe's harvest includes both strawberries and pumpkins (different seasons, surely?), but leaving that one flaw aside, this is just a lovely picture-book, one I would recommend to all young gardeners and nature-lovers, and to anyone looking for good children's stories about grandparents and their grandchildren. show less

I thought that this was a sweet and funny book. Kathy Henderson writes the story from the perspective of parents and their son. On each page they list the things that baby has and then what she wants instead. The story is very realistic and it seems that Henderson got her ideas for this story from real babies. Many authors get their ideas by looking at how people act or respond to things and this book is a great example of this.

It is a historical book also it is a early chapter book for kids.Historical fiction indicates a tale that happened earlier, as in pioneer America or medieval England
The story mainly tells us there once was a boy named Lugalbanda who lived with his seven brothers in the great city of Uruk. Uruk was ruled by King Enmerkar who had built it in honor of the goddess of love and war, Inana. One day, Enmerkar noticed that the faraway city of Aratta had far more impressive treasures and works of art show more than Uruk. Without further ado then, Enmerkar declared war on Aratta and set off to plunder its booty with his men. Amongst his men came the seven brothers and Lugalbanda. While en route to war, however, Lugalbanda became deathly ill and his brothers were forced to leave him with plenty of good food and drink in a warm cave, praying for his survival.
To teachers, it is a good book to teach student how to be strong and also it has a lot of methods to let students getting understanding of this book, for instance, role play, read aloud, etc.
To children, it is a good book which they can learn some history and also myths, they can learn the characteristic of the character. show less