How Chipmunk Got Tiny Feet: Native American Animal Origin Stories [Library Binding]

Gerald Hausman (Editor), Ashley Wolff (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up

Seven animal origin stories are culled from Koasati Creek, Navajo, and Tsimshian traditions and describe how such animals as the possum, coyote, and chipmunk became the animals we know today with the help of Mother Earth.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hausman's (Turtle Island ABC) retelling of seven Navajo, Koasati Creek and Tsimshian tales is a standout in an increasingly crowded genre. His tone is casual and unpretentious, his rhythm and pacing impeccable. Because the stories all feature animals that in each tribe "are thought of as people," they offer many subtle lessons about human behavior. In "How Horse Got Fast," slow-footed Horse kindly waits for a poky caterpillar to cross his path. The caterpillar, who then changes into a butterfly, rewards Horse with swiftness rivaling his own. Most stories include a visit by beneficent Mother Earth, who rights wrongs and fosters harmony. Using her customary linoleum block prints painted with watercolors, Wolff (A Year of Beasts; A Year of Birds) strikingly combines detailed Native American borders with her almost classical, storybook-style illustrations-a fitting blend, given the book's artfully achieved relevance to two very different cultures. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 4?Hausman has retold seven short pourquoi stories from the Navajo, Koasati Creek, and Tsimshian peoples and presented them in picture-book format. Each tale teaches a gentle lesson in smoothly flowing language that is ideal for storytelling as well as for reading aloud. Not as profound as Joseph Bruchac's collections, this title's appeal lies in its light approach, humorous tone, and authentic style. Sources are given for each selection. Wolff's vibrant, full-page linoleum block-prints painted with watercolors boldly bring the stories to life, and stunning borders indicative of tribal origins frame the pages of text. A delightful, readable volume that's a worthwhile purchase for story hours and the folktale shelves.?Beth Tegart, Oneida City Schools, NY
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Library Binding: 41 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins (March 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060229071
• ISBN-13: 978-0060229078
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,257,149 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am an inveterate storyteller, which is to say: I love to do it, am helpless not to do it, and I do it all the time, even when I am by myself there is an inner monologue going on in my head. This habit of privately roving around in the land of legends is something I've done for as long as I can remember. My mom worried about me when she saw that I spent too much time by myself. I would creep into a closet and close the door and in the silence of the darkness I would spin tales of all kinds. I was never lonely as a kid because I had the imagination of a wild thing, and I was content to play in the fields and valleys and secret caves of that imaginary world.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A good title for older, independent readers, May 17, 2000

By 

Nancy Parry McCluer - See all my reviews

This review is from: How Chipmunk Got Tiny Feet: Native American Animal Origin Stories (Hardcover)

These Native American animal origin stories have been drawn from Koasati Creek, Navajo and Tsimshian culture. The stories illustrate what happens when pride, greed, envy and other foibles override the common sense that Mother Earth bestowed upon humans and animals alike. The message the author hopes you take away after reading the seven origin tales within: "Here is the world...We must live in it together, not apart."

The tales are told as if transcribed from the oral tradition and probably work better if they are presented that way, rather than as a picture book. Older children who are independent readers will be able to handle the text but younger kids will enjoy hearing the stories more in a storytime setting.

The illustrations, linoleum block prints painted with watercolor, are well done, but they probably aren't plentiful enough to keep the attention of younger children in a one-on-one reading. Each page outlined in traditional motifs of the tribe whose tale is being told, but there is only one full page and one smaller illustration per tale. I know that my kids, at least, are still at the age they tend to lose track of the narrative if they don't have pictures to focus on. That's why these stories ultimately work better as oral tales.