[BOOK REVIEW] Arrow to the Sun by Gerald McDermott

Title:  Arrow to the Sun

Author:  Gerald McDermott

Genre:  Native American / Parental Issues / Folktale / Fantasy

Year Published: 1974

Year Read:  2010

Publisher: The Viking Press

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 4+ (Themes of Parental Abandonment)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

“Arrow to the Sun” is a Caldecott Medal Award winning book by Gerald McDermott that relates an old Pueblo Indian tale about a boy who tries to find his father, the Lord of the Sun and prove himself worthy to be his son.  “Arrow to the Sun” is a fun and creative book that many children who love Native American folktales, will easily get into!

Gerald McDermott has done many wonders with both the illustrations and the writing.  Gerald McDermott makes the story dramatic and simple at the same time as the writing is often shown on one side of the page and the other side of the page contains mainly images and many children who are adopted can easily relate to the boy as he tries to find his real father and many children can sympathize with the boy as some children might feel like they have to find their real parents to find out about their real heritage, so this story is similar to an adoption story for children who were often adopted and they want to learn more about their real parents.  Gerald McDermott’s are extremely colorful as they show all the colorful vibes that you would find in a 70s show as this book was made during the 70s and the illustrations are also highly creative as the characters are all block shaped and there is no real figure to the characters to identify them as human beings as they look like blocks rather than human beings.  The image that stood out the most was the image of the boy being turned into an arrow and being shot out into the heavens towards the sun and you can see that the stars also look block shaped but are also done in rainbow colors making the illustration look truly magnificent.

“Arrow to the Sun” is a brilliant folktale about the power of courage and determination and many children who love hearing various folktales from the around the world will definitely love this book.  I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book unless smaller children might worry about the boy’s misfortune with the other boys for not having a father in his life.

* 1975 Caldecott Medal

You might also like:

• The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses by Paul Goble

• Princess Scargo and the Birthday Pumpkin by Eric Metaxas
• Sootface by Robert D. San Souci

[BOOK REVIEW] Sootface by Robert D. San Souci

Title:  Sootface

Author:  Robert D. San Souci

Artist:  Daniel San Souci

Genre:  Native American / Folktale / Family / Manners / Magic

Year Published: 1994

Year Read:  2010

Publisher:  Doubleday Book for Young Readers

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (Child Mistreatment)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

 “Sootface: An Ojibwa Cinderella Story” is a brilliant Native American version of “Cinderella” retold by Robert D. San Souci along with beautiful illustrations by Daniel San Souci. In this version, a young girl named Sootface is mistreated by her two older sisters, but when a mighty warrior wanted to marry a woman who can see him when he is invisible, Sootface realizes that true beauty lies within. “Sootface: An Ojibwa Cinderella Story” is a beautiful retelling of one of the most beloved fairy tales ever created and will be an instant treat for children.

Robert D. San Souci has done a terrific job at retelling this old Native American tale as he makes the story both dramatic and tender at the same time. The audience can easily feel sympathy for Sootface as she has to endure hardship from her sisters and the village because of her appearance, however Sootface teaches children about the importance of having a kind heart as Sootface tries to overcome the cruelness of her sisters to have her dreams come true. Daniel San Souci’s illustrations are just simply beautiful and amazing as it truly captures the true spirit of the Native American culture as the characters wear colorful skin robes to define their personalities. The image that stood out the most was the image of Sootface herself as she definitely does look dirty since her hair is frizzy and her clothes are worn and torn since she has to do all the work at her home. However, Sootface still have an extremely beautiful face which strongly proves the book’s point in how true beauty lies within.

Parents should know that Sootface’s sisters are cruel towards her to the point where they smear ashes on Sootface’s face without a second thought. Parents should tell their children who have brothers and sisters that it is not right to mistreat your sibling and that you should always treat your siblings with respect.

“Sootface: An Ojibwa Cinderella Story” is a beautiful retelling of “Cinderella” that many children who are interested in Native American folktales will enjoy for many years. I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since there are some terms in this book that younger children would have problems with.

  


 

[BOOK REVIEW] The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses by Paul Goble

Title:  The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses

Author:  Paul Goble

Genre:  Native American / Animals / Folktale / Classic / Friendship

Year Published: 1978

Year Read:  2010

Publisher: Bradbury Press

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 6+ (Brief Scene of Blood)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

I have been reading many Native American folktales lately and I have recently stumbled upon this little gem called “The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses.” “The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses” is a Caldecott Medal award winning book by Paul Goble which is about how a young Native American girl’s love for horses has led her to the land of the wild horses and how she has to make the decision of her life to be happy forever.  “The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses” is a true classic tale that every child will enjoy for many years!

I have read many Native American folktales in my time, but never have I read one so full of luscious illustrations and an amazing story!  Paul Goble has done a beautiful job at retelling an ancient Native American folktale and what I loved about his writing was how he made the girl into such a kindhearted character and it was so interesting seeing her love for the horses as she would constantly feed them and talk to them.  I also loved the way that Paul Goble made this story extremely dramatic, especially during the thunderstorm scene as Paul Goble made it seriously intense.  When I was reading the thunderstorm scene, I was practically on the edge of my seat hoping that the girl and the horses would make it to safety!  Paul Goble’s illustrations are the true highlights in this story as they are extremely beautiful and creative to look at.  I loved the way that Paul Goble illustrated the girl as having a blue dress and there are beautiful white designs scattered all over the girl’s blue dress which makes the girl look truly regal.  I also loved the images of the horses themselves as they truly defined the beauty that they show the girl as they are brown and are drawn in an elegant way.  But my most favorite image in this book was the image of the thunderstorm as it truly does look threatening as the clouds are extremely black and it swirls around menacingly around the girl and the horses and that truly made the scene more intense.

Parents should know that there is a brief image of blood shown at the beginning of the page as a buffalo is pierced by an arrow.  It is a very small image, but still, children who do not like the sight of blood might want to skip over this scene.

Overall, “The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses” is a brilliant and memorable book for children who love reading Native American folktales and also has an extreme love for horses!  I would recommend this book to children ages six and up since the image of a buffalo being pierced might unsettle smaller children.

* 1979 Caldecott Medal
* 2000 NCSS/CBC Notable Children's Trade Book for Field of Social Studies
* An ALA Notable Children's Book
* Library of Congress Children's Book Award

[BOOK REVIEW] Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

Title:  Moon Called

Author:  Patricia Briggs

Genre: Urban Fantasy / Horror / Paranormal Romance

Year Published: 2006

Number of Pages: 288 pages

Date Read:  5/30/2011   

Publisher: Mass Market Paperback

Series: Mercy Thompson #1

Source:  Library

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository  

What do you get when you have a heroine who can change into a coyote in a matter of seconds add in two sexy male werewolves, and a kidnapping plot that will turn heads?  You will get this book “Moon Called” by Patricia Briggs which stars Mercy Thompson, your not so average heroine!  If I get paid a dime every time I see a heroine become a shape shifter, I would be a millionaire by now!  Full of action, mystery and a lust for the supernatural, “Moon Called” is one novel that paranormal and fantasy romance fans will be reading over and over again in their lifetime!

Mercy Thompson seems like an ordinary woman who works at a mechanic shop, but there is only one odd thing about her…she can change into a coyote at will! What is even stranger is the world she lives in as it is inhabited by all kinds of supernatural creatures like vampires, werewolves, witches and more!  She is even friends with a vampire named Stefan and knows two guys, Samuel and Adam, who are both werewolves!  But Mercy’s normal (abnormal) life will get much stranger and more intense once she realizes that there is a group of supernatural creatures who are devising a dangerous plot that involves the kidnapping of Adam’s daughter Jesse and odd experiments on new werewolves! Do not worry; Mercy Thompson is on the case!

The moment you see the cover of this book (Mercy posing in front of the camera while an eerie werewolf gate is behind her) you will definitely know that this novel is a stroke of genius!  Patricia Briggs has done an excellent job at writing this awesome novel that is set in a world where vampires, werewolves, witches (you name it!) all live side by side by humans and that was the part of the book that I really enjoyed reading because I love reading about supernatural worlds seeing humans living with supernatural creatures like it is normal, is really interesting to see.  The best part of Patricia Briggs’ writing was how all the main characters are supernatural characters and that was made this novel so interesting to read!  I loved how the main heroine Mercy Thompson came about as she is shown to be truly courageous and kind hearted towards anyone and what really interested me about Mercy was how she has some mad skills in fighting her enemies when she goes in coyote mode!  I also loved the way she always has some kind of smart comment to tell off someone who insults her and that shows how intelligent and strong she really is!  Out of all the paranormal/fantasy heroines I have read, Mercy is like the only heroine to have two lovers at the same time or let us just say that she likes two guys, but she just does not know who to choose!  Between Adam and Samuel, I loved Adam the best, because he is the alpha male leader of his werewolf pack and he is always looking out for everyone, especially Mercy! Now, don’t get me wrong, I like Samuel too, but I guess what bothered me a bit about Samuel was his troubled history with Mercy which left Mercy to be heart broken, but seeing as I have just started this series, I guess I will have to see how Samuel’s character develops in the series.  Patricia Briggs has done a wonderful job at developing a really interesting plot that revolves around the kidnapping of Adam’s daughter Jesse and I will admit that I was kind of expecting a more paranormal romance to develop in this novel.  However, I was still impressed with the suspenseful aspect of this story revolving around the kidnapping and it was interesting to see how the characters tried to develop conclusions to get to the bottom of this situation.

 The only problem I had with this novel is that the plot was a little bit too slow for my tastes as we are constantly hearing what Mercy’s inner thoughts on the situation is and that sort of annoyed me so much because I wanted to get to the action of the story.

Overall, “Moon Called” is definitely a brilliant introduction to the fantastic “Mercy Thompson” series and any fan of paranormal and fantasy romance will definitely get a kick out reading this awesome novel!  Did this novel cause me to go check out the other “Mercy Thompson” series? You bet it does and I will clean out every library I go to find this awesome series!

 

[BOOK REVIEW] Princess Scargo and the Birthday Pumpkin by Eric Metaxas

Title:  Princess Scargo and the Birthday Pumpkin

Author:  Eric Metaxas

Artist:  Karen Barbour


Genre: Native American / Birthday / Folktale / Sacrifice



Year Published: 1992



Year Read: 1993



Series:  American Heroes and Legends

Publisher: Rabbit Ears Books

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (Nothing Too Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

“Princess Scargo and the Birthday Pumpkin” is a wonderful tale from the genius minds of Rabbit Ears about a young Native American princess named Scargo who learns about the power of sacrificing the things you love to save the people you love.  Geena Davis’ tender narration along with Michael Hedges’ Native American inspired music and Karen Barbour’s beautiful illustrations makes “Princess Scargo and the Birthday Pumpkin” an instant classic for the young and old.

A drought came to the land and the ponds were dried up which made the Nabscuet tribe upset because they needed the fish to survive on.  So, Chief Segam called for a meeting and they decided to dig up a lake to withstand the drought, therefore, when the rains come, the hole will be filled up and a new lake would be created.  Everyone in the tribe helped out with the lake, except for Princess Scargo who could not work because she was a princess of a great chief.  Unfortunately, even though everyone tried to work on the lake, the fish continued to die.

Finally, the rains came and filled up the hole to that created a lake and everyone celebrated.  Unfortunately, it would be a long time before the fish returned to the lake and Princess Scargo was sad because she wanted to help out the tribe so badly.  As Princess Scargo went to the forest to stare at the fish in her birthday pumpkin, she got an idea and realized what she must do…

Geena Davis does a fantastic job at narrating this story of a heroic Native American girl who must sacrifice her most precious gift to save her people.  Geena Davis’ narration is extremely tender, making this story extremely pleasant to listen to.  Michael Hedges’ music is truly inspiring as he captures the true essence of Native American music as the music is deeply mesmerizing and magical.  Karen Barbour’s illustrations are beautiful and colorful, especially of the images of the birthday pumpkin with the images of all the animals in the forest being drawn on the outside and when the scenes came where they showed the inside of the pumpkin being filled with fish, the images were mesmerizing and beautiful at the same time.
 

“Princess Scargo and the Birthday Pumpkin” is a wonderful tale about the power of sacrificing the things you love to save the people you love and many children will enjoy this classic tale for many years to come.  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since there are some difficult words in this book that smaller children might have a hard time understanding, such as the names of the tribes.  Parents might want to help children understand the names of the tribes of the Indians by reading the names to them first.