The Boy of the Painted Cave [Paperback]

Justen Denzel (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

"Set in the Cro-Magnon era, this story of Tao, who longs to be a cave artist, features a boy whose talent is viewed as a curse, making it impossible to be one of the Chosen Ones . . . a strong plot with a wealth of well-researched details."--Booklist. "A beautfully written story about a prehistoric boy."--Publishers Weekly.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Strongly reminiscent of Ann Turner's recent Time of the Bison , this too is a beautifully written story about an artistic prehistoric boy. Adopted as an infant by the kind old woman Kala, Tao does not know his father. His mother, Kala tells him, gave him his gift for seeing beauty"the thing that makes you different from others." Determined to paint, despite the taboo against it, Tao is gradually cast from the clan. Now on the outside, he begins to view their superstitions skeptically: demons do not dwell in the forbidden slough, after all; and the wolf dog, Ram, despised by the clan, becomes Tao's devoted friend. This is an exciting, fabulously descriptive story set against violent times. Denzel's knowledge of the Stone Age enhances the action; moreover, with his tender, somewhat melancholy insights into ostracism and loyalty, he transcends the period. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-8 Set 18,000 years ago in prehistoric France, this is the story of a 14-year-old boy who longs to be a cave painter. This is forbidden, however, because Tao is not a Chosen Onehe's a tribal outcast with a crippled foot and no father to claim him. Forced into isolation by the superstitious leader, he befriends a wolf dog, Ram (another taboo), and the shaman, Greybeard, who teaches him to paint. When the tribe discovers this, they pit him against Saxon, the sacred bull. Tao is developed sympathetically, but his handicap is really a plot device to set up the central problem, for he has already overcome its physical drawbacks; it is the taboos and biases of his people over which he must triumph. The emotional connections between Tao and important minor characters are not conveyed strongly enough for readers to become involved and care. The motivations of the shaman are not always clear, and the cynicism he displays toward Tao smacks too much of a modern person sneering at savages, preventing readers from being swept up in the possible mindset of those who could believe in magic. There is no mystical wonderment at creation so beautifully evoked in Ann Turner's Time of the Bison (Macmillan, 1987). The taming of the wild dog is not as convincing as in Pryor's Seth of the Lion People (Morrow, 1988), which handles similar plot elements with more satisfying results, although both books occasionally use jarring anachronisms in their language. Despite its flaws, this book is interesting enough to introduce middle-graders to historical fiction. The superb cover will attract children, and, while the plot resolution seems a little forced, the exciting high points and the convincing setting will draw readers through. Annette Curtis Klause, Montgomery County Department of Public Libraries, Md.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (April 16, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0698113772
• ISBN-13: 978-0698113770
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #259,170 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #19 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > Prehistory
  • #53 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Arts & Music > Art > Fiction

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great story of adventure, survival, and perseverance., July 11, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Boy of the Painted Cave (Paperback)

I thoroughly enjoyed this story about Tao, the Cro-Magnon boy with a twisted foot. It is an inspiring account of primitive man, and shows how he moved from superstition and magic to common sense and knowledge. Tao is determined to draw and paint like a Chosen One and the revered Graybeard even though he is an orphan, and this is taboo. He also befriends a wolf and hunts in the forbidden lands which his clan considers evil even though it means he must live alone, away from his people. Denzel has written a great Stone Age story for middle schoolers with lots of action and suspense.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best action and adventure book written about the stone age, March 29, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Boy of the Painted Cave (Paperback)

Boy of the painted cave is the best book in the world because of the action and story plot. The plot is about an orphan named Tao born with a messed up leg.He loves to cave paint but painting in secretcy. To be a cave painter you have to be son of a shaman or a hunter. Because he doesn't know who his father is he can't be a cave painter. To solve this problem he finds a wolfdog and hunt with.Tao finds the mysterious Greybeard; the official cave painter and teaches Tao to be a better cave painter and pass down the name cave painter down to Tao before he dies. The action keeps you reading although the setting is in the stone age. When Tao meets the wolfdog the action begins. Volt the tribal leader is the antagonist of the story and is totally against Tao.

8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A GOOD BOOK, December 8, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Boy of the Painted Cave (Hardcover)

THE RETURN TO THE PAINTED CAVE IS A VERY INTERETING BOOK. I IN PARTICULAR ENJOYED IT VERY MUCH. THIS BOOK DEALS WITH FIGHTING FOR WHAT TAO, THE BOY CANE FAINTEL, BELIEVES IN. EVENTHOUGH HE HAS A CERTAIN DISSABILITY HE SETS OUT ON A UNFORGETABLE JOURNEY. AS HE SETS OUT TO PAINT IN THE SECRET CAVERNS OF THE MOUNTAIN PEOPLE, TAO DISCOVERS THAT THEY ARE VICTIMS OF A CRAZY SHAMAN, ZUGOR, THAT MAKES THEM LIVE UNDER THE THREATS THAT HE WILL PUT SOME CURSESON THEM. TAO FINDS OUT ABOUT A BLIND GIRL AND THREE ORPHANS THAT ZUGOR KEEPS IN A CAVE BECAUSE ZUGOR SAYS THEY ARE SUPPOSSEDLY PASSED BY DEMONS. TAO DOES NOT BELIEVE THIS IS RIGHT AND THAT IS THE BEGINING OF THIS INCREDIBLE ADVENTURE. TAO DOES THE IMPOSSIBLE TO FIGHT FOR WHAT HE BELIEVES IN. TAO FIGHTS RIVERS, BEARS, LIONS, RHINOS AND HE ALSO FIGHTS FOR HIS LIFE AND FOR OTHER LIVES TOO. TAO SEES THINGS THAT HE HAS NEVER SEEM AND GOES TO PLACES HE NEVER THOUGH OF GOING TO. THE AUTHOR JUSTIN DENZEL MAKES THE STORY TO THE POINT WHERE ANYONE CAN GET LITERALY ADDICTED INTO READINGEVERY CHAPTER OF THE BOOK TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS. JUSTIN DENZEL MAKES TAO A MAGNICIAN, WERE HE CAN CREATE LIFE OUT OF FINE, APAINTIER AND A SAFARI EXPERT. I REALLY LIKED THIS BOOK BECAUSE ITS HOWA LOT OF SUSPENSE, SO THE READER JUST HAS TO KEEP ONGOING . WHAT EVER YOU AGE MAY BE IF THERE IS A CHANCE, I RECOMMEND ANY ONE TO READ THIS BOOK.