Wings

I didn't get the theme. The author starts by claiming that the "gods always punish such a man" and repeats this same claim at the end. However, throughout the entire book, the gods never punish anyone or anything. They simply watch and react with emotion, never helping or hindering the plots as they unfold. So they never punished Daedalus, but the repetition of that phrase indicates that it was the main idea of the story. Right? What am I missing? Is it metaphorical and I'm completely missing it? I encourage anyone to help explain what I've missed...


Otherwise, the illustrations were great and its one of my favorite stories, but this version didn't quite succeed in adding enough detail to develop Daedalus as the vain, pompous (but show more complex) character that he surely was. It could have been better.

Also, I always thought that Icarus was an adolescent, which explained his actions, and I'm not quite sure why Yolen chose to make him a young boy in this one.

Perhaps it just suffers in comparison to the Daedalus of the Percy Jackson series. It is just a picture book, after all, not a novel. Perhaps my expectations are too high. show less

A retelling of the myth of Daedalus - prince, artist and master craftsman - whose hubris was punished by the gods, Wings chronicles its hero's many adventures, from his involvement in the saga of Theseus and the Minotaur, to his tragic flight with his son, Icarus.

Mentioned by the writers of antiquity, from Homer to Ovid, the story of Daedalus with which the modern reader is most familiar is actually the product of Thomas Bulfinch's 19th-century work, The Age of Fable. Yolen's version, accompanied by Dennis Nolan's beautiful watercolor illustrations, seems drawn from this source. It is a pleasure to read, and should entertain young Greek mythology enthusiasts everywhere.

Grades 4-7
Genre: Traditional Lit
Themes: Tragic Hero

Daedalus was a great inventor and all the people of Athens praised him. Daedalus became careless and lazy with pride. In his carelessness, he was responsible for his nephew's death. Daedalus was cast out of Athens and ended up in Crete. King Minos did not care of Daedalus' past. He instructed Daedalus to build a labyrinth to contain a Minotaur whom he could not kill. Daedalus did so but when he learned that the Minotaur ate young Athenians each year, Daedalus helped orchestrate the minotaurs death by Theseus. Daedalus and his son Icarus were thrown into the high prison tower. Daedalus and Icarus escaped with handmade wings. Icarus flew too close to the sun and melted the wings and he show more fell into the sea. Daedalus went to Sicily and built a temple to Apollo.

I would use this book in a Traditional Lit. unit. I would pre-teach a bit about the Tragic Hero and go over some of the vocabulary in this book. I would also have to introduce the students to Greek Mythology show less

Daedalus and Icarus story