I enjoyed this picture book's illustrations. It was a quick read and gave me a basic understanding of Persephone and her story. It got straight to the main point of the mythology while still providing many details.

A beautiful retelling of a popular Greek myth about Persephone for young readers. Dramatic and somber text and illustrations while describing Persephone's travels between the Underworld and the Earth. "A year passed and nothing on Earth grew. It was a year of hunger and misery. It was winter all the time. No one recognized the Great Goddess... waiting for the world to die of hunger." We experience Persephone's helplessness and sadness through the text and images but end up seeing the beauty of spring as she reappears each year. ( )

This book is about the story of Hades and the kidnaping of Persephone. Demeter and her daughter Persephone are playing in a field when Hades comes and takes her away to be his wife. Persephone heartbroken does not eat, sleep, or drink. Demeter, heartbroken, turns the world into a cold and barren land. Soon Zeus has Hermes, the messenger of the gods, to bring Persephone back to her mother. Instead, Persephone goes back to her mother for 3 months and then another three months back to Hades.

Persephone was out picking flowers when the ground spit and Hades, King of the Underworld, appeared and took her to be his wife. Persephone's mother, Demeter, Goddess of Earth, notices that she was missing and walked for months around the whole Earth in search of her. A water nymph told Demeter that Hades had taken her daughter and that she is now Queen of the Underworld but all she does is weep. This angered Demeter and she cursed the earth causing it to be inter year round. Zeus noticed that the earth was dying and send Hermes to find Persephone. Hermes tells Hades he needs to let Persephone go and Hades agrees because he loves Persephone and wants to see her happy. However, he has her eat three pomegranate seeds before she leaves since she did not eat the entire time. Demeter and Persephone are reunited and the earth is brought back to life again. However, Demeter finds out that Persephone ate food of the underworld and because of that, three months out of the year Persephone has to go back to the underworld. During these three months it is winter on earth.

This books tells the story of persephone who was taken by the god of the underworld, Hades. Her mother searched all over for her and when she found out where she was she insisted that persephone be returned home. While down in the underworld Persephone ate six pomegranate seeds she would have to spend six months in the underworld with hades. During the six months that Persephone is on the underworld winter falls upon the earth but when she returns she brings with her spring.