The simply told legend, brilliant illustrations and handsome book design combine for a compelling, important work.
Montileaux, a member of the Oglala Lakota Nation, adapts the legend of the tribe’s domestication of the horse in this bilingual English-Lakota edition.
A young warrior hunting game discovers a thundering herd of horses. Following them for weeks, he learns their behavior. “He wanted to catch one so that he could travel as fast as the wind.” After training the creatures, he triumphantly returns to his tribe’s camp. Using the horses for hunting, the tribe not only enriches itself, but begins to dominate other tribes. “The Great Spirit looked on in sadness. Tasunka, the horse, had been his gift to all the people. Instead, one tribe was…growing wealthy while others were going hungry, so the Great Spirit took the gift away.” Only centuries later, with the legend deeply woven into the tribe’s culture, does the horse return. (Its reintroduction is shown in scenes of the fateful migration of European-Americans across the continent.) Montileaux renders the expansive plains in greens, blues, reds and browns, intensifying color to heighten drama, as in a scene of a buffalo hunt. In one spread depicting tribal storytelling about Tasunka, a campfire illuminates drawings of horses amid evening’s purple shadows. Throughout, the striking, many-hued horses gallop, manes flowing, their powerful haunches tapering into thin, elegantly inked lines.
The simply told legend, brilliant illustrations and handsome book design combine for a compelling, important work. (illustrator’s note, further reading list) (Folk tale. 6-10)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-9852905-2-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: South Dakota State Historical Society Press
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2014
Trisha is ready to start at a new school, where no one will know she has dyslexia. At first, she is heartbroken to be in Miss Peterson’s special-ed class, aka, “the junkyard.” But Miss Peterson treats the children as anything but junk, showing them that everyone has a unique talent. Polacco’s trademark style is fully present here; her sensitively drawn alter ego shines with depth of feeling. When bullying occurs, Miss Peterson proves her students are worthwhile by planning a junkyard field trip, where they find valuable objects to be used in exciting ways. Trisha’s group repairs a plane, and the class buys an engine for it. Then a beloved class member dies, and the children must find a way to honor him. While the plot meanders somewhat, the characters are appealing, believable and provide a fine portrayal of a truly special class. Children will be drawn in by the story’s warmth and gentle humor and will leave with a spark of inspiration, an appreciation of individual differences and a firm anti-bullying message, all underscored by the author’s note that concludes the book. (Picture book. 7-10)
Pub Date: July 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-399-25078-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2010
Best for readers who have clearly indicated they would like to take their writing efforts to the next level.
A young white girl writes and illustrates a story, which is critiqued by the narrator as it is created.
The girl begins her story by drawing a Hero. Then she thinks maybe a Heroine would be better. Then she decides both will work. She places them in “a good town, filled with good people, called our Setting.” The narrator, an unseen editor who lurks over the artist’s shoulder, tells the storyteller she needs to put in some Conflict, make the Evil Overlord scarier, and give it better action. This tongue-in-cheek way of delivering the rules of creative writing is clever, and paired with Le Huche’s earnest, childlike illustrations, it seems to be aimed at giving helpful direction to aspiring young creators (although the illustrations are not critiqued). But the question needs to be asked: do very young writers really need to know the rules of writing as determined by adults? While the story appears to be about helping young readers learn writing—there is “A Friendly List of Words Used in this Book” at the end with such words as “protagonist” and “antagonist” (glossed as “Hero and Heroine” and “Evil Overlord,” respectively)—it also has a decidedly unhelpful whiff of judgment. Rules, the text seems to say, must be followed for the story to be a Good one. Ouch.
Best for readers who have clearly indicated they would like to take their writing efforts to the next level. (Picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-2935-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
