Money Midas

Lisa Arsenault is an elementary-school teacher in Ajax, Ontario.

Mr. Midas, the richest person in the world, is not satisfied with his
wealth: he wants to own everything in the world. He prevails upon the
“Wishers” (beings who grant wishes) to grant his wish that
everything he touch turn to gold. But when his daughter is turned to
gold, he longs to be the poorest man in the world. Once he has learned
his lesson, his wish is granted.

In this updated version of the classic myth, Mr. Midas lives and works
in a high-rise “palace” replete with computers and fax machines. He
sends forth legions of his employees to find the Wishers, and advertises
on television and radio. The illustrations use various shades of grey to
capture the drab, urban environment and its inhabitants’ preoccupation
with money. Everything Midas touches is bathed in metallic gold paint.
The illustrations have a cartoon quality that will appeal to children.
They will also appreciate Mr. Midas’s choice of cuisine: pizza,
chocolate milkshakes, hamburgers, hot dogs, and the like. Mr. Midas’s
daughter is sympathetically portrayed. She wants to do “kid things”
with her father, and wishes he weren’t so preoccupied with amassing
wealth. Recommended.