Journey to Mythaca
by Eve Baumohl Neuhaus
List Price: $16.95
Pages: 348
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 1595941010
Publisher: WingSpan Press
Ivan, nearly eleven, and Marianna, twelve, find themselves in a miniature world
when they shelter under a bush on a rainstorm. When Ivan brags about his city
home, Magellan, a winged equus (please don't call him a horse), and Paracelsus,
an ancient and slightly hard-of-hearing dragon, are convinced that the boy is
describing the fabled city of Mythaca. As soon as Paracelsus gets the spell right
and the children are small enough to ride on the backs of the mythical creatures,
the four are off on an unforgettable quest.
The children are listening to the passed-down tales of Mythaca and its
inscrutable antagonist, Maya, when Marianna discovers that she is growing
wings. Unfortunately, the effects of the fruit that must have caused the
transformation are unpredictable, and the wings shrivel up and disappear at the
wrong moment. Soon the travelers are separated, and Magellan and Ivan fall into
one of Maya's traps. The travelers eventually meet at the woodland workshop of
Icaria, flying cat and featherer, who tries to fit the girl with artificial wings.
Photinus Pyralis, a glowing creature from another world, asks each of the
travelers to draw what wisdom they can from their adventures before presenting
them with gifts. Magellan, Paracelsus, and Icaria receive some duct tape, a
penknife, and a mysterious tool with a spinning disc at its end. Ivan is given a
perspectus, a sort of helmet that will let him see from the point of view of anyone
or anything once he learns to use it; Marianna gets the gift of languages, which,
with some practice, will let her to understand the language of anyone or
anything. The rest of their journey is not as easy as they hope. The group is again
separated, there are riddles and paradoxes to resolve, and peace, both internal
and external, to be made, before the portal to Mythaca will open.
Full of gentle humor and wisdom, Journey to Mythaca is a story about stories, set
at the border between belief and reality. When Ivan loses patience with
Paracelsus's tales of Maya, he cries out, "Why should I believe you? Have you
ever seen her? Everything you know is just stories!" to which Paracelsus replies
mildly, "Stories? It's all stories, Ivan. Our lives are stories. We live stories." In the
end, beyond the uncertainty of not-knowing that that understanding brings, the
children discover that some things, such as music, love, and friendship, have
magical power in all the worlds they visit.
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1. At the beginning of the story, Ivan comes into the storyteller's living room as
the old man is about to start a story. The boy glances at the clock, "though he
knows its hands won't move during the telling." What does this indicate about
the nature of time in stories? How many different kinds of time can you think of?
How do they differ? What makes time stand still? What makes it slow down or
speed up? What does, "Once upon a time," mean to you? How much control do
you think we really have over time?
2. When the storyteller says the story opens in a world where magical beasts
don't exist, Ivan thinks he's come to the wrong story. The storyteller then says,
"or at least, no one knew they existed," and Ivan, much relieved, decides it's
probably the right story after all. Can you think of an example of something you
didn't believe in until you experienced it yourself? Do you believe in things or
ideas that science can't prove? Where do you draw the line between what's
imaginary and what's real? Do you think it's useful to believe in things that can't
be proven?
3. The children are told that, so far, an inscrutable enemy has foiled every quest
for Mythaca. Because it appeared as a winged serpent calling itself Maya a few
times, the name stuck, but Mythaca's nemesis really has no set name, shape or
gender, nor can its motives be easily understood. Ivan is so upset by the
intangibility of such an antagonist that he almost quits the quest before it begins.
Can you think of any examples of intangible or shape-changing enemies you
have fought with in your own life?
4. Pyralis asks the travelers to share what they've learned on their journey before
they receive their gifts. Marianna can't put what she learned into words, yet
Pyralis gives her a gift anyway. What do you think she learned? Discuss the
lessons each traveler shares and describe experiences you've had where you
learned the same or a similar lesson.
5. Ivan is given a perspectus, a sort of helmet that will let him see from the point
of view of anyone or any thing once he learns how to use it, and Marianna
receives the gift of languages, with which she will be able to understand the
language of anybody or anything. Can you think of a situation in which a
perspectus or the ability to understand any language would be useful? Which of
the two gifts do you think is the more valuable? If you had one or the other, how
would you use it? Imagine a situation in which you have one of the gifts and
describe your experience.
6. Journey to Mythaca begins with a quote by the poet, Muriel Rukeyser, "The
universe in made of stories, not of atoms." In the story, Paracelsus tells Ivan,
"Our lives are stories. We live stories." What do you think Rukeyser and
Paracelsus mean? What are some of the stories told in your family that you live
by? What are some of the important stories our culture tells? What stories are
told in our churches, our schools? By our politicians? How do the stories we
believe affect the way we act? How do stories connect us? Is it possible to change
the stories we live? How would you go about trying to change a story you have
always believed? Some people believe that changing the story can save the earth.
How could that be possible?
7. Two magical worlds are described in Journey to Mythaca, the upper world,
where the children first meet the beasts, and the lower world, Grund, where Ivan
and Magellan go on their own. What are some of the differences between the
two? How is each of them like or unlike our own world?
8. In the end of the story, the travelers reach Mythaca. Or do they? What do the
magical creatures think Mythaca is? What do you think Mythaca is? Do we all
have a personal Mythaca we're searching for? What does your own Mythaca
look like? What kind of journey would you have to take to reach it? What
magical gift would you find useful along the way? Tell a story about your
journey so far. Is your Mythaca very far away?
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"Move over Narnia and make room for Mythaca! This action-packed book not
only combines reality and fantasy but perhaps the fantastic meaning hidden
within reality. While children read for adventure, the grown-up will perceive
humorous esoteric yet wise allusions, which could result in meaningful
conversations. Sheer delight!"
—Alice O. Howell, author of The Beejum Book
"Journey to Mythaca directs our attention towards the parts of our experience that
we want to discount or ignore because they are mysterious -- intangible.
Through the eyes of two intrepid children, Ivan and Marianna, we journey into
worlds within worlds and, as the story unfolds, we understand that 'not
knowing' is the most difficult and the most important of lessons. This book offers
an opportunity for both children and adults to consider the ways in which
science, myth, spirituality and daily life converge to create our respective
"realities."
—Karen Gallas, author of Imagination and Literacy: a teachers' search for the heart of learning
