Young Mary Of Nazareth

Author : Marianna Mayer

Publisher : Morrow Junior

Published Year : 1998

Format : Library Binding, 40 pages

Dimensions : 10.30 (w) x 10.31 (h) x 0.37 (d)

ISBN : 0688140629

ISBN13 : 9780688140625

Overview :

The Virgin Mary is one of the most beloved figures of the Bible and a popular source of personal inspiration worldwide. Marianna Mayer's moving telling of the revered saint's youth, from her infancy to the birth of Jesus, is a vivid portrait of the compassionate girl who would one day be called the Mother of God. Illustrated with the works of such masters as Titian and Giotto and lavishly decorated with gold ornamentation, here is a celebration of one woman's courage — and the glory of God and angels.

Author Biography: Marianna Mayer lives in Roxbury, Connecticut.

"I see folktales and myths as humankind's first stories," says Marianna Mayer. "They are a kind of collective dreaming, filled with timeless symbols and images we can all relate to, regardless of age or culture. And, much as an oyster must be disturbed by a grain of sand in order for the pearl to be created, I often choose to retell stories in which I find unresolved fragments that are somehow perplexing to me."

Though widely known as a children's book writer, Marianna Mayer's early education focused on visual art. "It seems to me there was never a time when I didn't want to be an artist, " she says. "I liked to tell stories with pictures and compose music. My sister and I put on plays made up from my stories. And then I decided to start writing a book, at the age of nine." She published her first book at the age of nineteen. After college, she studied painting at the Art Students League in New York City. Her experiences as an artist provided many images that she began to incorporate into writing. Gradually, she shifted to the written word as a medium of expression. She explains, "I began to feel more freedom when using words as my paints and plots as my canvases.

"While in the midst of a writing project, I live so much in my mind that what takes place in my imagination becomes quite real to me. I try to become part of the culture of a particular tale as much as possible. While working on Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave, for example, I read all I could about Russia. What I learned about Slavic mythology helped to deepen my understanding of the story. I listened to Russian music, ate Russian food (which I love!), and tried in other small ways to enter into the essence of that culture."

"My writing is deeply personal. First and foremost I write for the child who still lives within me. Then to the child in others, whether that child resides in a young person or an adult. I'm striving to reach out to that spirit of wonder within us all. The stories I was told as a child, those half-remembered folktales and myths, have become the foundation for what I continue to work on in my books. The sense of hope that books instilled in me as a child saw me through many difficult times. Because of this, I choose characters who face overwhelming odds but triumph through courage and perseverance. Similarly, myth allows a child to believe in his or her own dreams and can instill a boundless hope for the future."

An account of the life of the Virgin Mary, from her own birth through her early years and education at the Temple to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.