Pandora's Legacy

Gr 4–6—On a trip to visit their grandparents, Jan, Charlie, and Trevor stumble across an abandoned building and accidentally break the most recent incarnation of Pandora's Box, a jar holding the monsters of legend and myth. Finding that their cat Po has been possessed by the Greek Titan Prometheus and that they are descendants of Pandora, the three children, along with their ally Jimmy Shu, must rescue their kidnapped families from the Gorgon Stheno and her minions before the sun sets. The book is gorgeous, with vibrant colors and an admirable attention to detail on clothing and panel backdrops. Unfortunately, the story is marred by a few flaws. The author haphazardly pulls creatures from Inuit legend, Philippine and Greek mythology, and even Lewis Carroll's bestiary but occasionally misidentifies them—for instance, a flying monster is referred to as a "Jabberwocky" (rather than a "Jabberwock"). Readers will be drawn to this beautiful work, but stilted dialogue and an all-too-tidy ending may leave them feeling let down.