Stories on Stone: Rock Art, Images from the Ancient Ones [Hardcover]

Jennifer Dewey (Author, Illustrator), John Keller (Editor)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up

Introducing readers to the mysteries of southwestern United States rock art, an examination of this strange and beautiful link to ancient human life describes the people who created rock art and explains what the messages tell us.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-4?A highly personalized look at one of the earliest forms of written communication. Dewey begins with a discussion of her childhood trips to see rock art in New Mexico and Utah. In poetic prose, she speculates on the meaning of the turtles, birds, snakes, and deer she saw and intertwines information about the Native peoples who created these images. She states, "These ancient marks on stone are maps of the human heart, mind, and imagination." Earth-toned drawings replicate many of the petroglyphs and pictographs. A few illustrations of cliff dwellings add a sense of location. Yvette La Pierre's Native American Rock Art (Thomasson-Grant, 1994), for slightly older readers, may be a better source for reports, but those beginning a quest for knowledge of rock art will be beguiled by the spirit Dewey infuses into her narrative. A clear and lively introduction to a fascinating subject.?Jeanette Larson, Texas State Library, Austin
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 6^-9. As a young girl growing up in the Southwest, Dewey's interest in rock art was sparked by family car trips, and she became fascinated by the strange images she saw carved in the stone. In an intriguing short account, she describes the history of the paleo-Indians who created the "mysterious but readable record of human history" and the tools they used to create petroglyphs (images that are pecked or chipped) and pictographs (painted images), and offers some reasons the ancient ones were inspired to create rock art. What could be a dry and difficult subject is made enjoyable in a brief, readable text surrounded by Dewey's soft monochromatic illustrations of common rock art subjects. This attractive book will provide background knowledge for families who are planning to visit the Southwest and could be used in the classroom as enrichment for a unit on ancient cultures. Lauren Peterson

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Little Brown & Co (Juv); 1st edition (September 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316182117
• ISBN-13: 978-0316182119
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,814,607 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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