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

Jennifer Owings Dewey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 30, 2003

Now available only from UNM Press, Stories on Stone introduces young readers to the rich history and mystery of rock art in the Southwest. As a youngster growing up in the American Southwest, Jennifer Dewey became fascinated with the images she saw carved in stone years before by the area's natives. For this book, Dewey has produced original color drawings that vividly recreate the images painted and carved into rocks centuries ago. Dewey explores who the original artists were and what their rock art meant, introducing young readers to the beauty and mystery of these images and stories on stone.

Dewey begins by pointing out that rock art is a mysterious but readable record of early human history in the Southwest. The author goes on to describe how rock art images came to be chipped and etched on stone and suggests some of the likely inspiration behind the images. Throughout the book, Dewey helps readers encounter the past with respect and understanding while opening their imagination to the stories told in these ancient works of art. This striking book will appeal to anyone wanting to share the power of rock art's ability to intrigue.

"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."--Booklist

Ages 7 and up; reading level grade 6

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press (December 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 082633024X
• ISBN-13: 978-0826330246
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,575,296 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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