Product Description

The Book of Goddesses draws inspiration from the many goddesses honored throughout history in various cultures around the globe. This lavishly illustrated, greatly expanded 10th Anniversary Edition of Kris Waldherr’s beloved classic pays homage to 100 of these revered women (74 more than the original edition), and is structured around the feminine rites of passage: Beginnings, Love, Motherhood, Creativity, Strength, and Transformation. These goddess stories tell of women’s innate divinity, dignity, and potency—their ability to create life from their bodies, their strength of character, their magic.

This visually stunning book, by an author/illustrator with an enormous fan base, is a testament to the power, passion, wisdom, and beauty of women everywhere, in all stages of life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #254133 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 167 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Waldherr (Persephone and the Pomegranate) ambitiously tackles no less than 26 goddesses in this comprehensive guide, which spans the globe from Navajo to Celtic to Japanese culture. Its ambitiousness, however, may be its Achilles' heel. Relegating each subject to one page of text with a facing page of illustration, Waldherr does not have the luxury of creating tension, crafting dialogue or establishing settings. The result feels uncomfortably like a series of highly compressed encyclopedia entries. Outside the context of a myth or story, these summaries may not hold the reader's attention, unless, perhaps, as research for school. In that scenario, the book is a useful resource, supplemented by an extensive bibliography and lush watercolors of each goddess in a setting reflective of her culture. All ages.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 3-7?This collection offers unique information to students of women's history and lovers of mythology. Waldherr has researched her topic extensively. Her cohesive, succinct summaries of each goddess?one for each letter of the alphabet?read like stories as well as convey the subjects' significance. Familiar deities of Greece and Rome share equal space with the less familiar Kuan Yin of China, Yemana of Cuba, and Oya of Nigeria. The author also includes the engrossing stories of goddesses of Java, Sumeria, Mexico, Norway, and 10 other locations. Most of them represent virtues and values such as mercy, love, comfort, and fertility, though some are associated with wrath and revenge. One page of text, framed by a decorative border and background illustration, and a full-page portrait are devoted to each woman. Waldherr's watercolors depict the goddesses in their traditional garments surrounded by the most important motifs of their myths. The artist pays particular attention to ethnic details. The volume includes a pronunciation guide and an extensive source list, which contributes to its research value. Aliki's Gods and Goddesses of Olympus (HarperCollins, 1994) is for a younger audience and is of limited scope. Patricia Monaghan's The Book of Goddesses and Heroines (Llewellyn, 1990) contains many more entries, but has no illustrations and is not written specifically for children. Waldherr's book can be used to supplement read-alouds, and older children will enjoy it on their own.?Cheri Estes, Detroit Country Day School Middle School, Beverly Hills, MI
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

American Booksellers, March 1996
Twenty-six different goddesses are described and beautifully depicted in full regalia. Each culture is well presented and the sense of the divinity of these women is told in detail. Every little girl needs this book so she can grow up and become a goddess.

Customer Reviews

The book of Goddesses
Beautiful book well presented. However I was after the book that explains the tarot cards and not the description of each goddess. Because they have the same cover I picked the wrong book.

Glorious Goddesses--Expanded Edition!
If you haven't seen the revised and expanded anniversary edition of Waldherr's renowned Book of Goddesses, this is a book you do not want to miss! The new version is packed with gorgeous artwork and informative, empowering text. Waldherr includes both familiar and unusual goddesses within a beautiful framework of multicultural mythos. The book includes both full color portraits as well as halftone illustrations--with additional border illustrations lending to the narratives.

It is well researched and put together. Another particular strong point is the fact that Waldherr includes "related goddesses" at the end of each section. The addition of comparative mythology helps to exemplify the universal nature of the feminine divine and makes this book seem unique in its presentation. The pricepoint almost seems low for this visual masterpiece--as it is a timeless creation that is sure to please generations to come!

Captivating, delightful, and enriching: a book to treasure

Prepare to be beguiled. This is not an ordinary book.

Finding it was a happy accident while I was researching artistic responses to the myth of Persephone and Demeter. I knew Kris Waldherr had written a children's book about Persephone ('Persephone and the Pomegranate'), but it was out of print and had become a hard-to-find collector's item. So I turned to this more recent book of hers instead, and was captivated by it.

The book is designed as a complete whole, from its richly coloured endpapers with their jewel-like illustrations through to the lovely organic patterns of flowers, leaves, shells, rocks, birds and trees that run along the outer border of every page. Open it anywhere, and you'll see straight away that each double-page spread has been arranged with great care and sensitivity. Pictures are creatively balanced with text in a deeply satisfying way, from the evocative little vignettes inserted among the letterpress that give the words space to breathe, to the large richly coloured full-page illustrations. It doesn't matter if you think you're not interested in goddesses, and you don't have to be a woman to enjoy it; the book is so lovely that it will entice you in. Before you know where you are, you'll be immersed in the world of divine feminine archetypes that Kris Waldherr has laid before you.

This book is a wonderful demonstration of what can be achieved when an author/artist/designer has the inspiration, talent and vision to understand the potential of modern book production techniques, and take full advantage of them. 'Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful', advised William Morris. The Book of Goddesses fits both criteria, and here's the wonder: anyone can afford to buy one.