This ancient Greek myth explains how summer and winter came to be. Hades, god of the underworld, kidnaps the lovely Persephone, daughter of the goddess Demeter, and takes her to the dark winter of his home. Zeus, chief of all gods, decrees that the young maiden may return to earth if she has not eaten anything. While she has eaten only six pomegranate seeds, this is enough to bar her from the earth for six months every year. Her return to earth is always accompanied by spring, but when summer fades into fall, Persephone must return to the underworld.
Watercolor paintings illustrate the simple retelling of an old tale.
This modern allegory assigns human attributes to each month in the year. May ventures out too far but Aunt June stops her gardening long enough to send her along to her father, December. Each month is a family member who ushers her forward on a loving journey through the calendar. Colorful illustrations capture and combine the details of people and seasons. Throughout Native American cultures, legends evolved as a way of explaining the mysteries of the earth.