October 29th Blog
DEMIGOD
DISPATCH
10/29
Hello Demigods, Mortals, and Monsters,
It is my pleasure to send our updated newsletter & blog to all you heroes out there. This week we’re focusing on Fall Holidays and the Spooky Season!
We’ve got a deep dive into the Celtic origins of Halloween, a film rec The Book of Life, a story about a hero whose journey begins on the Day of the Dead, and a book recommendation from one of YA’s hottest new writers, featuring West African mythology.
The winter is coming. Enjoy and stay brave, heroes.
Behind the Myth
This weekend we gear up for Halloween, which means extra danger and excitement for demigods. Apparently,
the tradition of Halloween is Celtic, and goes back centuries before the founding of Rome when the holiday was called
Samhain (SOW-win). Even back then, the holiday marked a day when the material world and the spirit realm were closest,
and beings of all sorts could walk between dimensions freely. Monsters, fairies, and tricksters abound!
If you’d like to know more, we highly recommend this video made by the incredible people at Invicta History.
Staff Spotlight
Sarah is not only a Celtic History expert, she is responsible for recruiting and training the talented staff who make our
camps magical places for your story and adventure-loving demigods. She’s come a long way from stumbling into
Camp Half-Blood New Jersey after being marked by the Slavic Witch-Goddess, Baba Yaga. She tells the story
better than anyone.
Plato’s Recs
If you’re interested in or even curious about the stories from mythology that our campers get to play in each summer, we have some recommendations for film and literature for you, our hero parents.
In addition to this, we would also like to offer a recommendation for something your kid(s) could be interested in. These are in the same vein as the Percy Jackson series, but might not be on your shelf yet. Enjoy!
…
Film for the Whole Family: The Book of Life 20th Century Fox, Starring: Zoe Saldana, Diego Luna, and Channing Tatum
A light-hearted comedic adventure set in a world which highlights the Day of the Dead celebration.
“Manolo, a young man who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart, embarks on an adventure that spans three fantastic worlds where he must face his greatest fears.
For Teen & YA Readers: Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
An epic quest set in a world drawn from West African mythology, which follows protagonist Zélie Adebola as she faces a tyrannical regime that seeks to eradicate magic from the land.
About the Author
“Tomi Adeyemi is a Nigerian-American writer and creative writing coach based in San Diego, California… After graduating Harvard University with an honors degree in English literature, she received a fellowship that allowed her to study West African mythology and culture in Salvador, Brazil. When she’s not working on her novels or watching Scandal, she can be found blogging and teaching creative writing to her 3,500 subscribers at tomiadeyemi.com. Her website has been named one of the 101 best websites for writers by Writer’s Digest.”
Goodreads.com
Follow Us on Social Media
If you’d like more regular postings of content or to get a peek behind the shield, we encourage you to follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
This week, we’re challenging our followers to show off their best mythology-inspired costumes and tag us in their posts. Those that post and want to be added to our special feature post will have their costume shown off to our whole following.
Check out the announcement post below for details:
