Persephone and the Pomegranate: A Myth from Greece

Waldherr, illustrator of Amy Ehrlich's Rapunzel and Robert San Souci's The Firebird , here transplants a Greek myth to a dreamy, Botticelli-like setting. Evoking a time ``when gods and goddesses still lived among humans,'' her romantic prose describes Persephone's abduction by Pluto, ``lord of the underworld,'' and the heroic attempts of Persephone's mother, the harvest goddess Demeter, to rescue her. Lush oil paintings, some full-page, others in miniature, conjure up tranquil, moonlit landscapes; an ethereal netherworld; blossoming forests. Persephone and Demeter, both gauzily gowned and given flowing, pre-Raphaelite tresses, and an ardent, black-haired Pluto stand out against a supporting cast of courtly specters. Haunting. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)