Customer Reviews

Raven: A Trickster Tale from the Pacific Northwest

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The children in my Pre-K class cannot get enough of this book. The magic of the illustrations and the text has them mesmerized. Many times, when we have finished reading the story, they want to here it again!

I bought this book on a whim for my daughter, as I am a great fan of Native American mythology and beliefs. I got it after a short wait, and looked through it.
The artwork is simply amazing; beatiful, detailed pictures accompany each portion of the story.. Even the surprised looks on the faces of people as Raven plays his trickster games is done magnificently!
The story itself is well written. It's the basic and ancient legend of how Raven stole the sun, but done very well, in language that even young kids can understand. It's a fun story to read, too, since you can make the book come alive by adding a few of your own choice sound effects, and just watch the look on your son or daughter's face...

But, best of all, children love it. When I first read it to my four-year-old, her eyes lit up, she became completely drawn into the story, and laughed and giggled as Raven did his thing. She even demanded that I read it over again - a rarity for my daughter, since she has a huge library of her own now!
I'll buy anything else I can find from this author. He won a Caldecott for this book, and small wonder; his work is absolutely magnificent, and I recommend getting it in hardcover because you'll wear the covers off a softcover version! Enjoy it!

I get antsy when Native American themes and stories appear in children's books. Too often they reek of cultural misappropriation.

But this beautiful book--gorgeous watercolor backgrounds to the Northwest Native American-style imagery--feels respectful, and does a great telling of a favorite Tlingit Haida tale of how light came into the world.

The illustration of the morphing of the Sky Chief's spoiled grandson back into Raven is particularly effective.And when Raven fills the sky with the sun in his beak, it's very easy to buy into this story as a valid creation myth.

I've now bought three copies of this book for various pre-schoolers I know, and all my grown-up friensd who've seen this book have fallen in love with it, too. This is a definite winner, bound to become as classic in its own way as Robert McCloskey's ``Blueberries for Sal.''

An enjoyable book for parents and children alike. Love the illustrations. Saw an episode of "Northern Exposure" on TV once portraying the theme, and loved it then too. The story has interesting correlations with Christian doctrine where Christ is the "enlightener". I am always fascinated by the number of different cultures from all over the world that have a similar story handed down from centuries past.

I picked this book up for my girls mostly to satisfy myself. I had taken a Native American lit class in College, and I thought I'd get more out of the book than the girls. Boy, was I wrong. This is consistently one of the most requested books at story time. I think the author and illustrator created a wonderful book that kids of all ages can find something they love!

This book is an American Indian legend about how the sun came to be in the sky. It is written for a young audience and includes very good artwork. I recommend this book for children of school age.

My students really liked this book. I teach first grade. It was great talking about indians and tolerance. There is a huge range of things to talk about with this book. Like do birds talk?

I think I am becoming addicted to the wild world of McDermott's trickster tales, and this one well deserves its Caldecott Honor.

This one comes from the Pacific Northwest and traditionally explains the origin of the sun, via the heroic crow.

It's a great Native America story, with all the spirit that it deserves as well as McDermott's gorgeous illustrations.

It is a ritual in our household every winter solstice to read this story to our children. I love this telling of how Raven stole the sun and gave it to the people of earth. And the illustrations are so beautiful.

A classic Native American tale with brightly colored pictures.I have searched for this book for several years to replace an old worn copy.
I was very excited to find it through Amazon.