From the beginning of time, high above the hidden valley, Snow Leopard has sung the stars to life, the sun to rise, and the moon to wax and wane. He has woven words of protection to keep the enshrouded valley safe from the world. But time is passing, and Snow Leopard must find a singer who will follow him. Moreover, the arrival of soldiers looking for gold and slaves poses a new and dire threat. As he sings, a child lies dreaming the song down in the valley beneath . . . Jackie Morris's poetic text and superb artwork create a new myth with a timely message.
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Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Grade 1–3—High in the Himalayas, Snow Leopard watches over a village in a remote valley. The animal is a Mergichan, a "pure and powerful being" that acts as a guardian spirit. After soldiers invade the village, she infiltrates their dreams with images that make them flee so peace can return. As the sacred cat ages, she chooses a young girl to learn her secrets. Eventually the Child completes her transformation into the next protecting Snow Leopard, and the old cat blends into the Milky Way. Lush watercolors of mountain landscapes fit well with the epic, mystical premise of the tale. However, striking illustrations of snow leopards and wintry panoramas don't provide a compelling enough reason for most libraries to add this odd tale to their collections.—Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
In ''The Snow Leopard,'' Jackie Morris visits a land where respect for the wilderness is a fact of life. The book is set in the western Himalayas, where shamanistic traditions are preserved in the folklore of isolated mountain valleys. The craggy, ice-covered slopes are home to ibex, blue sheep, eagles and of course the fabled snow leopard. It is feared as a predator, revered in legends as a shape-shifter, and the upper zones of its domain are entered only with great caution.
Morris's flowery text follows the well-worn tracks of the language of myth: ''From the beginning of time, out of the silence, Snow Leopard sang the stars to life, the sun to rise and the moon to wax and wane. High above the hidden valley, her song clothed the world in white and built a crackling fortress of snow, buttressed with ice, to keep all things safe and secret.''
Down in the valley, a girl sleeps while marauding soldiers come. The leopard leaps down to shelter her, and there's an odd moment of mutual recognition: long ago, it seems, the leopard was once human. The leopard carries the girl away and begins to teach her sacred mountain secrets. After an ethereal apprenticeship, the girl becomes a snow leopard herself, guardian of the mountain domain, while the old leopard retires to the heavens, her song ''a whisper of starlight,'' and the cycle is complete.
The book succeeds largely through vivid watercolor illustrations that meld ink-brush abstraction and subtle detail into a gorgeous fantasy. Morris, who has illustrated more than two dozen books, paints a dramatic portrait of the snow leopard and her environment; the big cat glides from flatness to depth across a landscape dressed in stark blue-whites and blue-blacks. With its focus on a severely endangered animal at a time of global warming and species eradication, ''The Snow Leopard'' sends a valuable message about the beauty and power of the natural world.
Both ''Samsara Dog'' and ''The Snow Leopard'' tackle a profound problem of the modern era: how to address our increasing alienation from one another and from the other living creatures of our world. By way of response, each book depicts a stewardship of sorts -- the dog and his boy, the cat and her girl. Whether one is a cat person, a dog person or not a pet person at all, the two books hint at a way forward toward a more responsible relationship with nature, born of love and understanding, which is to say, compassion. -- The New York Times
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More About the Author
Jackie Morris is an author, illustrator and artist. She lives and works in a small cottage by the sea in Wales, UK. She loves colour, cats, birds and flight, walking, reading, magic and dragons, kites, dandelion clocks, dogs and horses ( especially the black and white heavy footed kind with great liquid eyes) and many other things.
Above the house where she lives is a rare thing, a dark sky where stars are clear and visible, and every night she walks, watching the moon wax and wain and the stars turn across the ocean of air.
If she could have one special thing it would be a time machine so that the days could be longer.
She has written and illustrated a few books.
Above the house where she lives is a rare thing, a dark sky where stars are clear and visible, and every night she walks, watching the moon wax and wain and the stars turn across the ocean of air.
If she could have one special thing it would be a time machine so that the days could be longer.
She has written and illustrated a few books.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The true spirit of snow leopards,
This review is from: The Snow Leopard (Hardcover)
I work for a wild cat sanctuary, have known a snow leopard, and this book truly captures their incredible above-the-world spirit. The story is as an old legend retold and the illustrations capture all the magic in the story.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Beauty and Power of the Natural World,
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This review is from: The Snow Leopard (Hardcover)
This book is a must for your book shelf, whether you are a cat-lover or not, whether you have children or not, whether you are young or old. In our relentless pursuit of material pleasures and more, more, more, we are becoming increasingly alienated from the power and beauty of the natural world. This book ever so subtly promotes a compassionate relationship with the creatures of this earth, all the while subtly embracing the subject of species endangerment due to global warming. Beautiful illustrations and the language of myth bring the story alive.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Snow Leopard,
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This review is from: The Snow Leopard (Hardcover)
This a beautifully illustrated story that should appeal to adults as well as children. We will be taking a copy to our grandson in the next week or so and will see if someone about to turn 5 years old can appreciate it. He will no doubt love the drawings; not sure about the story.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
From the beginning of time, out of the silence, Snow Leopard sang the stars to life, the sun to rise and the moon to wax and wane. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
snow leopard Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
From the beginning of time, out of the silence, Snow Leopard sang the stars to life, the sun to rise and the moon to wax and wane. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
snow leopard Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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