Customer Reviews

Fire Race: A Karuk Coyote Tale of How Fire Came to the People

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My highest recommendation on this book is due to the fact that my five-year-old grandson loves the book and asks me to read it over and over to him. The illustrations are very nice and colorful, the book is done with wit and humor and is a fun read.

I found this book by accident in a local bookstore, and was astounded by the beautiful illustrations, as well as impressed by the afterword by a well-respected Karuk individual. The story of the race will captivate younger children, while the pictures will keep their parents entranced.

I'm fond of stories from Native American cultures that attempt to explain the facts of the world. In this story, we learn how Yellow Jackets got their black striping and why fire comes from wood. Coyote is sweet and knowlegable; less of a trickster than he often is, and more caring of the animal community than usual.

The illustrations are beautiful and remind me of Jan Brett's. They have good detail and personalities on the animals faces. My favorite aspect of each animal though, was the token clothing or jewelry. Coyote wears a hat, eagle wears a necklace, fox has earrings. None of the jewelry are blatent but are subtle and understated, appearing as though the animals are comfortable in their adornments.

My boys are both half Native American and they didn't get that from me. Their dad isn't around so I wanted something to help them learn about their culture and more specifically their tribe or tribes that are in the same general area. They really like this book and read it everyday. They have to read for a certain amount of time everyday for school and they have numerous books but go for this book all the time. The illustrations are great too. My boys are 9 and 7 years old.