Neil Philip (1955–2026)
Author of Mythology (Eyewitness Books)
About the Author
Neil Philip is a writer, folklorist and poet. He is married to the artist Emma Bradford, and lives in the Cotswolds, England. Neil loves words, poetry, and the art of storytelling in all its forms. Among his many books are A Fine Anger, Victorian Village Life, The Cinderella Story, The Penguin Book show more of English Folktales, Mythology (with Philip Wilkinson), The Great Mystery, War and the Pity of War, The New Oxford Book of Childrens Verse, The Tale of Sir Gawain, Horse Hooves & Chicken Feet, and The Adventures of Odysseus. Neil has contributed to numerous journals, including The Times, and Signal: Approaches to Childrens Books, and has also written for stage, screen, and radio. His work has won numerous awards and honours, including the Aesop Award of the American Folklore Society and the Literary Criticism Book Award of the Childrens Literature Association. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Works by Neil Philip
Myths & Legends: The World's Most Enduring Myths and Legends Explored and Explained (1996) 217 copies, 3 reviews
American Fairy Tales: From Rip Van Winkle to the Rootabaga Stories (1996) — Editor — 121 copies, 2 reviews
Volta Ao Mundo Em 52 Historias - Illustrated Book (Em Portugues do Brasil) (1998) 69 copies, 3 reviews
Cinderella Story: The Origins and Variations of the Story Known as Cinderella (Penguin folklore library) (1989) 44 copies, 1 review
Between Earth and Sky: Poetry and Prose of English Rural Life and Work Between the Enclosures and the Great War (Country (1984) 5 copies
Robin Hood 4 copies
Robin dos Bosques 2 copies
Mitologijos enciklopedija 2 copies
O Livro Ilustrado dos Mitos 1 copy
The Arabian Nights 1 copy
Folktale of Eastern Europe 1 copy
Mütoloogia 1 copy
Sagen und Mythen aus aller Welt = The illustrated book of myths. Tales and legends of the world (2006) 1 copy
A Family Treasure Of POETRY 1 copy
Associated Works
The Mythology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained (2018) — Contributor, some editions — 514 copies, 1 review
Illustrated Dictionary of Mythology: Heroes, Heroines, Gods and Goddesses From Around the World (1998) — some editions — 271 copies, 2 reviews
Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen (Reader's Digest) {40 stories} (2005) — Translator — 57 copies, 1 review
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1955-05-08
- Date of death
- 2026
- Gender
- male
- Education
- University of Oxford
University of London (PhD|1980) - Occupations
- folklorist
critic - Short biography
- [from author's website]
Neil Philip is a writer, folklorist and poet. He is married to the artist Emma Bradford, and lives in the Cotswolds, England. Neil loves words, poetry, and the art of storytelling in all its forms. Among his many books are A Fine Anger, Victorian Village Life, The Cinderella Story, The Penguin Book of English Folktales, Mythology (with Philip Wilkinson), The Great Mystery, War and the Pity of War, The New Oxford Book of Childrens Verse, The Tale of Sir Gawain, Horse Hooves & Chicken Feet, and The Adventures of Odysseus. Neil has contributed to numerous journals, including The Times, and Signal: Approaches to Childrens Books, and has also written for stage, screen, and radio. His work has won numerous awards and honours, including the Aesop Award of the American Folklore Society and the Literary Criticism Book Award of the Childrens Literature Association. Outside of the storied world, Neil is passionate about cats, art, music, France, food & wine, and friendship. - Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- York, Yorkshire, England, UK
- Places of residence
- Cotswolds, England, UK
Oxfordshire, England, UK
Normandy, France
Reading, Berkshire, England, UK - Map Location
- England, UK
Members
Reviews
This collection of diverse Cinderella variations, which includes transcripts of oral tellings, offers a peek into the massive depth and breadth of this centuries-old, worldwide story. If you are tired of the same old story, then this is the book for you. Cinderellas of different races, different ethnicities, and even different genders star in this tale's multiple tellings, some of which are more than a thousand years old. Gypsies, fairies, princes, kings, magical animals, magical trees, show more incest, cannibalism, adultery, murder, transmogrification, happy endings, and even sad endings--it can all be found here. Lovers of folklore or fairy tales will delight in this volume, which offers a brief introduction and context for each story without bogging readers down with tedious detail. Informative and entertaining--a delicate balance, but Philip manages beautifully. show less
I knew almost nothing about the legend going in, but wanted to. I thought I'd just scan this, get the gist of it, read bits... but I wound up reading every word of the narrative, every caption, and examining every image.
Philip and Harris did a marvelous job bringing the adventurers and the history to life. The drawings are lively and appealing, and the images collected from actual old manuscripts and art are well-chosen to give information and a real sense of context. I particularly liked show more the photos of the forest, the deer, broom and woad, recreators' costumes....
Big problem, though. It was made clear that Robin Hood himself may never have existed. And that Richard and John did. But what about Guy of Gisborne, and the Sheriff, and the other documentable characters? The book design could have made the distinctions more clear, and didn't.
I wouldn't mind exploring more by the creators, even though I'm not a big fan of either adventure, history, or Eyewitness books. show less
Philip and Harris did a marvelous job bringing the adventurers and the history to life. The drawings are lively and appealing, and the images collected from actual old manuscripts and art are well-chosen to give information and a real sense of context. I particularly liked show more the photos of the forest, the deer, broom and woad, recreators' costumes....
Big problem, though. It was made clear that Robin Hood himself may never have existed. And that Richard and John did. But what about Guy of Gisborne, and the Sheriff, and the other documentable characters? The book design could have made the distinctions more clear, and didn't.
I wouldn't mind exploring more by the creators, even though I'm not a big fan of either adventure, history, or Eyewitness books. show less
This book consists of poems by Neil Phillips about how kids feel about washing their hands and taking baths. I think it's a successful poetry book because it has a plot that flows very well and has rhythm. Phillip also uses rhyming in these poems that make the poems very fun to read. I feel like many young children would love these poems because they are catchy and have simple language.I feel like they would also enjoy this book because it would be relate-able to them.
Drawn from a variety of memoirs and biographies, this collection of childhood stories paints a nuanced picture of growing up Native American. The one- and two-page vignettes represent 20 different tribes (most from western North America) and are organized by theme. The book begins with warm images of children at play, sternly affectionate elders, and favorite pranks. Later the tone darkens as one girl describes a cruel grandmother, and several others recall harsh treatment at the white show more schools they were forced to attend. Luther Standing Bear's recollection of being made to choose an Anglo name that was then stitched into his shirts is particularly poignant. The book ends on a spiritual note, with tales of powerful visions and dreams. This is an excellent choice for curriculum support and brief read-aloud material; teachers can pair selected passages with traditional nonfiction titles to round out the study of a particular tribe. The selections are indexed by author and tribe, and all have source notes.
TCI Lesson 3: The Peopling of the US show less
TCI Lesson 3: The Peopling of the US show less
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Awards
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Statistics
- Works
- 116
- Also by
- 13
- Members
- 4,716
- Popularity
- #5,342
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 79
- ISBNs
- 241
- Languages
- 15
