Genre: Traditional
Age: 10+
In the beginning, the Raven created man... No, in the beginning, Divine Woman created Earth... or maybe it was a turtle, a feathered serpent, or Zeus. Whomever we can thank for this awesome gift of life varies from country to county. These are considered myths by most, but there are many who believe in the validity of a few of these. These stories also show a great deal about the cultures who shared them. For example, there were a few Native American stories that were centered around the power and importance of the natural earth, which is something I would expect from Native Americans (I'm actually part Navajo, and believe in the power of the natural earth as well!). Also, of course, the Greek story focuses on Zeus and the battles of gods. Traditional literature is a great window of insight to various cultural mores.
I found this collection to be absolutely fascinating, and a great tool to use in the classroom to introduce folklore and myth. It begins with a powerful hook: "Time was, there were no people on earth. The first man still lay inside the pea pod." What a cool way to start off a story! I can imagine most young readers would see this and wonder what in the world some dude was doing in a pea pod. It turns out, a raven had been "growing" man, and when he broke free of the pod, the raven showed him what food was, taught him about the world around him, and made him a perfect "helper" or woman. (I loved that we were known as "helpers" in most of the stories...)
This is a collection of 25 stories, so I couldn't even begin to review every one; however, my absolute favorite has to be the one that includes the most conflict: "Death the Creator." The story begins with darkness, and the only beings were Sa (Death), his wife, his daughter, and God Alatangana. God felt that the world was too full of darkness, so he created plants and animals to make it better. Sa was so thankful for this that he frequently allowed God in his house. Eventually though, God fell for Sa's daughter and asked for her hand in marriage. Sa did not want to give up his daughters and continued to make excuses to prevent it from happening. They secretly married and ran off, and began having many children. Sa was so angry that the next time he spoke to God, he said, "I welcomed you into my home, and you repaid me by taking my daughter. Now you must give me one of your children on the earth whenever I call one to me." This dialogue pushed the plot forward, and kept me intrigued and wanting to read more. I enjoyed this story for many reasons; number one, it gave a its own little twist on how the earth was created, but it also tells the story of how Death calls God's children. There are many "hints" as to what will happen in the future, and the contrast of characters (and complexity) makes a story like this great to teach foreshadowing, character, and conflict. I plan to use this to aid teaching my first unit.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who has interest in various cultures, and history. What a great collection!
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