Color-rich paint and paper collages, and playful easy-to-read text bring the story of Pele to life for children in Pele and the Rivers of Fire by Michael Nordenstrom. The book introduces Hawaii’s beloved volcano goddess and her siblings to young readers in an inspiring tale about personal strength and over coming adversity.
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Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-Hawaii's volcano goddess, Pele, has become more familiar to mainland Americans through her appearance in folklore collections and several works of children's fiction, including Dan Greenburg's The Volcano Goddess Will See You Now (Grosset & Dunlap, 1997) and Gloria Skurzynski's Rage of Fire (National Geographic, 1999). Nordenstrom brings the legend to picture-book form as Pele moves from island to island following her shark brother and chased by her ocean sister. Each place that she settles erupts into a new volcanic island. This pourquoi tale is heavy on the "pourquoi" and light on the "tale." The illustrations are paper cuttings, reminiscent of, but not as detailed as, those by David Wisniewski. The image of Pele in nearly every picture gives a repetitive feel to the pages, and her awkwardly portrayed mouth on many pages hints at a mustache. Despite these drawbacks, libraries in areas that study the Hawaiian Islands will want a copy of this book to document one legend about the islands' formation.
Ellen Heath, Orchard School, Ridgewood, NJ
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Ellen Heath, Orchard School, Ridgewood, NJ
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gr. 2-4. Pele is sleeping, the Hawaiian Islands are quiet, but when the volcano goddess awakens, the earth roars and lava explodes from the mountain. This story recounts how Pele journeyed from Tahiti to the Hawaiian Islands, accompanied by her shark brother and followed by her sea-goddess sister, Namakaokaha'i. The sisters battled until Pele's death, but her spirit still inhabits Hawaiian volcanoes. This retelling is so slight, it reads more like an abstract than a story. No source is cited, but a graceful version of this legend can be found in Vivian Thompson's Hawaiian Myths of Earth, Sea, and Sky (1966.) The strength of this work lies with the dramatic collage, acrylic, and watercolor art, dominated by bold oranges and blues. Rafe Martin's The Shark God (2001) is a better choice for most libraries, but this is an attractive supplement for larger collections. Linda Perkins
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eye Candy,
By Bertha Stewart (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Pele and the Rivers of Fire (Paperback)
Pele and the Rivers of Fire is a beautiful story of Pele, the goddess of fire. This children's book is for anyone, childern or adults, who appreciate stunning artwork, and stories about Polynesian folklore. One of my favorite parts of the book is the glossary. It teaches you how to say the Hawaiin words and my kids have since been running around the house calling each other pahoehoe (PAH hoy hoy) and Lo'ihi (LOH ee hee.) It's a great bedtime read and will undoubtedly be passed on to future generations.
5.0 out of 5 stars
pele,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Pele and the Rivers of Fire (Paperback)
THis book was given to a newborn named Miranda Pele...It was a huge success...very nicely done pictures and fairly easy story to follow
5.0 out of 5 stars
gorgeous, lush and beautiful book,
By A Customer
This review is from: Pele and the Rivers of Fire (Paperback)
This is a beautiful, engaging book with amazing collages in vivid colors. I truly enjoyed reading it and looking at the pictures.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Atop her volcanic home, nestled in the crater of Kilauea, Pele, the goddess of volcanic fire, sleeps wrapped in a blanket of hot lava. Read the first page New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Atop her volcanic home, nestled in the crater of Kilauea, Pele, the goddess of volcanic fire, sleeps wrapped in a blanket of hot lava. Read the first page New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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