King Midas and the Golden Touch

"There once lived a very rich king called Midas
who believed that nothing was more precious than gold."

So begins this imaginative and breathtaking retelling of the myth of the man with the golden touch. When a mysterious stranger offers to reward Midas for a kindness, the king does not hesitate: He wishes that all he touches would turn to gold. To his delight, his wish is granted and he soon sets about transforming his ordinary palace into a place of golden beauty. But to his dismay, when he accidentally turns his beloved daughter into a golden statue, Midas learns that what at first seems a blessing can also become a curse.

Author: Charlotte Craft
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 09/23/2003
Pages: 32
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.36lbs
Size: 10.92h x 8.48w x 0.11d
ISBN: 9780060540630

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 4.7
Point Value: 0.5
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 70864 / King Midas and the Golden Touch


Review Citation(s):
PW Notes and Reprints 11/10/2003 pg. 64
Publishers Weekly 11/10/2003

About the Author
Craft, Kinuko Y.: -

Kinuko Y. Craft has won more than one hundred graphic-arts awards, including five gold medals from the Society of Illustrators. In 2008, she was inducted into their Hall of Fame. Her art has been in print for almost half a century, appearing on the covers of such prestigious publications as Time and Newsweek. Her illustrated books on Greek myths and of classic fairy tales have been published in the United States and other English-language countries, and in Europe, China, and Korea. Says Kirkus Reviews, "Every detail of her work--the flowers by a spring, a red cloak unfurled against a blue sky, moonlight on a tiger's back--is beautifully rendered." Beauty and the Beast is her ninth illustrated book.

Craft, Charlotte: -

Charlotte Craft studied comparative literature at Columbia University in New York. After graduating, she traveled to Japan, where she worked as an interpreter and photographer. She now lives in Scotland with her family. The New York Times complimented her first book, Cupid and Psyche, for its "clear, simple text" and noted that the book a "excels in conveying the mythology."

In addition to Cupid and Psyche, she is also the illustrator of Marianna Mayer's Pegasus, Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave, and The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Ms. Craft lives in Connecticut.