Tales of Maui have been told by the Maori for thousands of years. Here, Maui and his brothers decide to catch the sun and teach it a lesson. The sun, in its haste to get back to bed, raced across the sky each day, leaving only a few hours of sunlight for fishing. Armed with ropes and his enchanted weapon, he and his brothers travel to the edge of the pit where the sun slept to lay their trap. Full color.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Grade 2-5?A pourquoi story from the Maori culture. Maui, the trickster hero, and his brothers are upset because the sun travels across the sky so quickly that they don't have enough hours of daylight for fishing. Maui encourages the people of the village to weave ropes and, armed with them and an enchanted weapon made from his grandmother's jawbone, the man sets a trap and captures the sun, forcing it to travel more slowly. In retaliation, the sun travels so slowly that the Earth becomes parched, so Maui finally hitches it to the moon so that as one sets the other rises. Bishop provides notes about the character, the sources of the tale, and the motifs used in the illustrations. The lively pen-and-ink and watercolor drawings are slightly reminiscent of Paul Galdone's work; the sun is a fierce, tattooed warrior, too large to fit on the page. There are four tales about Maui, including a variation of this one, in Te Kanawa Kiri's Land of the Long White Cloud (Arcade, 1990), but the Maori are generally underrepresented in children's books. While Maui doesn't have quite the irreverent charm of Paul Goble's Iktomi, he is a worthy member of the trickster-hero breed.?Pam Gosner, Maplewood Memorial Library, NJ
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Ages 5^-8. Although the artwork is flat, this retelling of a popular Maori pourquoi tale is simple and lively. It tells how trickster Maui captured the sun with a net so that the day could be longer. Jay Williams' The Amazing Things Maui Did (1979), with handsome illustrations by Charles Mikolaycak, remains the definitive picture-book edition of Maui stories; this dialogue-rich alternative is more accessible to young children. An informative source note by Bishop, a native New Zealander, is appended. Julie Corsaro
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Strong, stylised classic,
By Fiona (Aotearoa/ New Zealand) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Maui and the Sun (Paperback)
Gavin Bishop, pre-eminent New Zealand illustrator, gives a strong portrayal of Maui, the trickster archetype in a legendary battle to order the universe. A story from the well-spring of Maori myth this is a book to treasure within a family library and as part of a comprehension collection of heroic tales in public libraries. Tama Nui te Ra, the sun, is personified in the tale and the illustrative style is an inspiration to teachers and students of the language arts.
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