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Title: Arrow to the Sun: A Pueblo Indian Tale (Picture Puffin) by Gerald McDermott ISBN: 0-14-050211-4 Publisher: Puffin Pub. Date: February, 1977 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.45 (11 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Creation, Quest, and Spreading the Spirit in Fabulous Images
Comment: The story here is a Native American Pueblo tale. It begins when "Long ago the Lord of the Sun sent the spark of life to earth." "It traveled down the rays of the sun, through the heavens, and it came to the Pueblo." "There it entered the home of a young maiden." "In this way, the Boy came into the world of men."
Growing up alone with his mother, the boy is derided by the other boys. "Where is your father?" Finally, the boy could take it no more. He left to find his father. The Corn Planter and the Pot Maker could not help him. But the wise Arrow Maker could. The Arrow Maker made the boy into an arrow and shot him into the sun.
The boy claimed to be the son of the Lord of the Sun, but the Lord of the Sun demanded proof. Tests were involved, but the boy was not afraid. He successfully went through the four kivas of lions, serpents, bees and lightning. After the kiva of lightning, he was transformed and was filled with the "power of the sun." The father and his son rejoiced.
The Lord of the Sun said, "Now you must return to earth, my son, and bring my spirit to the world of men." He was sent back as an arrow. "The people celebrated his return in the Dance of Life."
As you can see, this story is a very conceptual one that deals with spiritual matters involving cultural traditions that are probably unfamiliar to your child. The book will be easier to understand if you explain a little about the religious beliefs of the Pueblo Native Americans before reading this book to your child. You will also need to explain the point about how not having a father present can create a stir. The arrow transfers can be explained as magic, and the search itself can be likened to a quest of the sort that knights often undertook. The spiritual connection can be explained in terms of your own religious beliefs or tradition.
The story is also a metaphor for the planting cycle, as well as the cycle of life and death.
The key reason to read this book is to see some of the most remarkable modern renderings ever created of classic southwestern Native American pictograms. These pictograms are built from stylized geometric components combined into other geometric forms in a palette built mostly from yellow, orange, red, brown, and black. As accents, turquoise and green are added. These images are created with gouache (a thick form of water color) and preseparated black lines. These geometric shapes take literal beings and turn them into spiritual, conceptual ones. If you are like me, the transformation of the boy into the power of the rainbow against a sky of black will take your breath away. Not surprisingly, this book won Mr. McDermott the coveted Caldecott Medal in 1975 as the best illustrated children's book.
After you finish enjoying the story of the book, I suggest that you also help your child understand some of the legends of other peoples in other times about planting and harvesting, as well as the manhood tests. If you are not familiar with any, The Golden Bough can be a good source for you. I remember being impressed as a child by how similar the beliefs are across cultures about common experiences like those related to agriculture. That impression helped me be more open about what appeared to be differences when I met people from other cultures. I was inclined to assume that we had more in common than our different clothes, manners, and languages would have suggested.
Connect to the funamental way the sun serves as the ultimate source of food and power for us all!
Rating: 5
Summary: as good as i remember
Comment: My mother read this book to me when I was a child, and I remember loving it, but hadn't seen it in probably 15 years until I bought it for my nephew. It is as good as I remember.
I can attest to the fact that the high contrast, brightly colored drawings are mesmerizing for a small child. The best part of the book is when the boy must complete four tasks for the sun god to prove himself. The tasks are not narrated, you get to see how the tasks are completed from how the drawings change. It's so cool! I felt very smart as a little kid being able to discover what he did and figure it our for myself.
On a cultural note, the narrative is similar to the Christ story. Mother gives birth to the boy (a virgin birth) after the sun god sends a ray of energy to her. The boy grows up and wants to know who his father is, and goes on a quest to find him and prove that he is indeed the son of the sun god. (That's why he becomes an arrow to the sun!)
I think it's good for a child to be exposed to this story to begin to understand the universal elements of religion and that all cultures have a lot in common. Even those that seem strange are not so different from our own.
Rating: 5
Summary: Why I love Arrow to the Sun
Comment: This book just calls to me. I love the words, I love the pictures. Most of the time when I read a book over and over I get bored with the book. But every time I read this book I love it even more. I give it 5 stars. I think it is the best book ever.
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Title: Coyote: A Trickster Tale from the American Southwest by Gerald McDermott ISBN: 0152019588 Publisher: Voyager Books Pub. Date: 19 April, 1999 List Price(USD): $7.00 |
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Title: Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti (An Owlet Book) by Gerald McDermott ISBN: 0805003118 Publisher: Henry Holt & Company, Inc. Pub. Date: March, 1987 List Price(USD): $6.95 |
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Title: Raven: A Trickster Tale from the Pacific Northwest by Gerald McDermott ISBN: 0152656618 Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books Pub. Date: 30 April, 1993 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: Rainbow Crow by Nancy Van Laan ISBN: 0679819428 Publisher: Dragonfly Pub. Date: 02 July, 1991 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Zomo the Rabbit: A Trickster Tale from West Africa by Gerald McDermott ISBN: 0152010106 Publisher: Voyager Books Pub. Date: 01 May, 1996 List Price(USD): $7.00 |
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