Title of the work
Country of the First Edition
Country/countries of popularity
Original Language
First Edition Date
First Edition Details
Julia Dweck, Pandora's Box. Irvine: Xist Publishing, 2017, 19 pp.
ISBN
Genre
Picture books
Target Audience
Children (5–10 years)
Cover
We are still trying to obtain permission for posting the original cover.
Author of the Entry:
Ayelet Peer, Bar-Ilan University, ayelet.peer@gmail.com
Peer-reviewer of the Entry:
Lisa Maurice, Bar-Ilan University, lisa.maurice@biu.ac.il
Daniel A. Nkemleke, University of Yaoundé, nkemlekedan@yahoo.com
Julia Dweck (Author)
Julia Dweck is a children’s author, who has written more than 50 books. She has an experience with elementary education. She is also a designer of educational adjuncts for children's literature.
Source:
Interview at beachboundbooks.com (accessed: January 29, 2020)
Bio prepared by Ayelet Peer, Bar-Ilan University, ayelet.peer@gmail.com
Chris Robertson (Illustrator)
Chris Robertson is an American children’s picture book illustrator. He has an extensive career in animation and children literature.
Source:
Official website (accessed: January 29, 2020)
Bio prepared by Ayelet Peer, Bar- Ilan University, ayelet.peer@gmail.com
Summary
This is an adaptation of the Pandora’s box myth which is set in the North Pole and written in rhyme.
Pandora is a young female Penguin who finds a box in the midst of the ocean. She brings it back to the shore and while her family and friends try to persuade her not to open it, they ultimately help her uncover the box. What they find inside is a glimmering rainbow which creates the northern lights.
Analysis
From the summary the uniqueness of this adaptation is clearly evident. Pandora’s box is transferred from a human setting to an animal kingdom. Instead of humans the story is populated with Penguins, Humpback whales, seals and other marine life from the pole (probably the North pole).
In this rendition, Pandora keeps her individuality which oftentimes characterizes her persona (especially since she was the first woman). She is described as doing things her own way.
When she finds a golden box at the bottom of the ocean she decides to open it regardless of the others’ warnings. While in the myth Pandora was at times sole responsible for opening the box or aided by Epimetheus, in this story the friends come together to help Pandora, in spite of their initial concerns, thus showing the strength of friendship.
Perhaps their friendship is the reason that the box contains a miraculous rainbow rather than anything harrowing. The story could have easily gone the other way and made a strong statement about the environment with a climate-related evil escaping the box. Yet the author kept the story surrealistically happy and rewarded the Penguin and her friends with the northern lights.
By doing so, Pandora turns from the curious girl (or Penguin), to a strong and unique individual, who follows her own rules and does not succumb to society- to the benefit of all in the end. The story hence celebrates individuality. Pandora’s decisiveness, in contrast to the cautiousness and worry of her peers, led to the miracle. Although it could have brought about a great disaster as well with her carelessness, the author emphasizes her behavior and says that “her playful prying brought delights” p. 18. She was just playing, no harm has been done, and she was not deliberately trying to cause any damage.
The mythical Pandora unleashed evils, but also hope to the world; her Penguin counterpart brings only happiness and delight, keeping the tone of the story light and humorous.
Addenda
The review refers to the second edition ebook
