Customer Reviews

THE HORSE PAINTERS

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What do you think life might have been like in prehistoric times, say after the great flood when huge climatic changes were occurring on earth and the weather was steadily getting colder? Umalik is a fourteen-year-old boy whose mother has died. He and his twelve-year-old brother Aku live in a cave with their father, grandfather, and eighteen-year-old sister Aariak who is the community's animal painter. Her drawings are believed to bring the animals that the people need to hunt for food. However, a strange young man named Uirngut, about Aariak's age, wants to be the community's animal painter, so he kills Aariak and then flees.

Justice must be meted out. Yet Grandfather is too old and sick, Father is too busy hunting for the family's food, and Aku is too young. So it falls on Umalik to find Uirngut and punish him for his terrible deed. As Umalik makes his way with their pet Wolf through the worsening conditions, Aku sneaks off and follows him. Along the way they meet an older couple named Gardel and Gretel who save them from freezing in the snow. The two boys finally locate Uirngut with three other young men for whom he claims to be the shaman. Will Umalik be able to defeat Uirngut and also protect Aku? And if they do, will the boys ever make it back home?

I shall readily admit that I found this book a fascinating read. The plot moves along at a pace which keeps the reader turning the pages to find out what will happen next. Some people might object to the idea of seeking vengeance, but remember that this was a primitive society in which the only way to obtain justice was through personal revenge. But more importantly, embedded in the story is the important lesson that disputes are best settled not by fighting but by talking. This primitive society does worship what we would call pagan gods, and so far as language is concerned, there are a couple of exclamations which involve "the gods," and the euphemism "drat" occurs once. A couple of descriptions might be a little intense for the very young and the very squeamish. Otherwise, it is an interesting look at what it could have been like to live in those ancient "ice age" type of days.

The Horse Painters
By Peter Stockwell

The Horse Painters is a tale of survival in the wild country during the Ice Age. Each creature needed to be cunning to survive in a cold world where animals roamed the earth.

This book is so artistically written, there is no need for illustrations.

Aariak has the spirit of the horse painter. When she draws animals on the wall of caves, her drawings bring animals to her family for food. A jealous boy who desires her gift kills the horse painter in her sleep.

If fourteen year old Umalik and his twelve year old brother Aku can't kill the murderer and return the spirit of the horse painter to their family, all will be lost.

The young boys meet up with freezing conditions, starvation, wild animals and dangerous men on their quest. Will they be killed by hungry animals? Will their family starve before they get back? Should they go home without the horse painter's spirit?

There is adventure at every turn in The Horse Painters. I recommend this book to adventure lovers of any age. This would also be an enjoyable read for a young boy with a flashlight under his covers, or a classroom of fourth through sixth graders.

Jill Ammon Vanderwood, author
What's It Like Living Green?: Kids Teaching Kids, by the Way They Live

Are you ready to go back to the Ice Age and become part of the life and culture of the times as seen through author, Peter Stockwell, in his gripping story, The Horse Painters?

Inside this book you will travel back to a time when life was hard, survival the name of the game, where The Horse Painter is probably the most important element in their lives.
What or who is, The Horse Painter? It is a person with a gift, one that allows them to draw animals and actually bring them into the open so the tribe may hunt them and survive. They also can commune with animals. Interesting to say the least.

We meet a family and in this family the young girl, Aariak, has this gift, but is killed by one of another clan in the belief that now he will possess her gift.
Now, a member of Aariak's family must kill the killer in order to get the gift back. The oldest son, Umalik, is the only one slightly capable of accomplishing this task. Although the odds are against this young boy, he has to try. So begins his journey,one where he will encounter near death from animal, man and elements. Exciting! And he has a surprise companion on this journey, one who proves to be invaluable to the success. Along the way he meets many interesting people, some helpful and some dangerous. Will he succeed?

In all honesty I am usually not one who is over interested in any books that take me back in time, but this one definitely has me rethinking my mindset. I was totally absorbed in the story right from the beginning. I believe it is because the author took the time to make the characters come alive, brought you into their world, their beliefs and their raw emotions as the story unfolded.

The characters were not those who grunted and hit everyone with a big club, but had structure in their world, emotions, meaning and purpose. This all in keeping with what you would expect the local to look like with the extreme conditions that existed. Very good job!

I was very pleased with this book. It had a great storyline, characters that touched on both sides from good to evil, and some that were quite colorful, and an ending that promised more adventures in the future. I believe young readers will find themselves plunging headlong into this read and not come up for air until they travel the entire road. Well done.