It's worth the wait and the dust jacket isn't a huge issue. My copy also arrived with no dust jacket. My copy took literally months to ship and i received this part 1 about 2 months after Parts 2 and 3 arrived. My child loves folklore stories and this is perfect - a great retelling with intriguing visuals! Yes the book says they explored the ways of love but that is as close to explicit as it gets and that doesn't really imply anything specific (a parent loves a child Enkidu and Shamhat simply learn to love each other and enjoy a loving relationship which, for Enkidu whose had little contact with people, brings him closer to being civilized and wanting to go to Uruk). I was worried about how Shamhat and the relationship between her and Enkidu would be presented. I think it is a little pricey but it is written in language a child can understand, tells the story in age appropriate detail, and the illustrations are absolutely wonderful. The series is a wonderful version for children. Enkidu saves him and the two become friends.This is part 1 of 3 in a series telling the story of Gilgamesh.

The most beautiful woman in the land, Shamhat, brings Gilgamesh and Enkidu together, after she and Enkidu fall in love. The two fight a long battle, until Gilgamesh falls from the high wall. Enkidu is a wild man of great strength who lives amongst the animals.

This particular version describes Gilgamesh as a cruel leader, forcing his people to build the highest wall in the world to prove his power. The author notes in the back of the book that there are many versions of the story of Gilgamesh. Zeman’s version of the story differs from the one in the Story of the World text. Even though these are unusual names for my 7 year old and my 5 year old cannot read the names, they can at least take note of the beginning letter in each name/prop and find what they need. It decreases their confusion over which prop was assigned to which character and serves as a place to put them when not in use in a particular part of the story. I found that labeling them on a big piece of paper helps to keep them organized. I gave the Creek Kids a list of props to gather and as I read the story to them, they acted it out on the floor. As we continue our ancient studies in Mesopotamia, we read the version of the story by Ludmila Zeman. One of the oldest known stories in the world is that of Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, the area of Mesopotamia which is now modern day Iraq.

Gilgamesh the king zeman