Two Bad Boys: A Very Old Cherokee Tale [Hardcover]

Anonymous (Author), Gail E. Haley (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up

When Boy, a lonely child, comes across a child in the wood who calls himself Wild Boy and who tells him that he is Boy's long-lost brother, Boy brings him home where, soon after, Boy's parents discover that Wild Boy is uncontrollable and a very bad influence on their son.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Since that time, people have had to hunt for their meat, plant their vegetables, and work in this world." Although this may sound startlingly like the banishment of a certain First Couple, "two bad boys" are to blame for this human condition, according to Haley's well-told version of a Cherokee tale. In the beginning of time, a boy's reflection in a pond springs to life. This new brother, Wild Boy, tempts the formerly obedient Boy into mischief. They discover the cave of animals from which their father sparingly hunts; they accidentally release all the animals. They find the hut from which their mother gathers abundant vegetables; they try to take some and the hut vanishes. Thereafter they and their progeny must hunt and farm vegetables to survive. Caldecott Medalist Haley's (A Story, A Story) retelling is crystal-clear, conscientiously researched and handsomely illustrated in earth-toned acrylics. Her careful compositions, essentially realistic but lightly infused with mysticism, subtly evoke a paradise lost. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6?In the Cherokee version of Eden, First Hunter, Corn Mother, and their son enjoy foodwithout working for it. Boy is lonely, and one day sees another child beneath the surface of the river looking up at him. Each morning, Wild Boy comes out of the river to play; eventually Boy's parents capture him and take him home. They cannot tame him, however. The youngsters' mischief escalates until they discover the sources of their family's meat and corn and cause them to vanish. The boys feel hunger, their parents depart, and their willful independence compels them?and all their descendants?to work for their food. Like Genesis, this tale acknowledges the punishing aspect of labor, the human tendency to curiosity and meddling, and the adolescent desire for self-sufficiency. Here, however, the ungovernable impulse to follow one's own will is recognized as a wild, undomesticated side of the self: Freud's id anticipated. Haley's illustrations, each bordered by a narrow geometric band, depict the figures with strongly modeled forms. Despite the stylized treatment of certain animals and plants, the overall effect is realistic. The Cherokee have appropriately ethnic features, and the few objects (baskets, tools, ornaments) around them convey a sense of their culture. Against a golden background, touches of teal and green stand out. The presentation is culturally specific, but the story's themes have a universal and timeless resonance.?Patricia (Dooley) Lothrop Green, St. George's School, Newport, RI
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile; 1st edition (August 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525453113
• ISBN-13: 978-0525453116
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,679,641 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars From another perspective..., March 14, 2002

By 

"gwynn-jenn" (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Two Bad Boys: A Very Old Cherokee Tale (Hardcover)

This book does parallel the Genesis creation myth, yes, because this book is an interpretation of a Cherokee myth by a woman of Christian background and knowledge-base. Within some Cherokee communities this book is even seen as a MISinterpretation, a retelling which misses the point of the tale when it's told in context and without changing important details, which Ms. Haley has done.
She is a successful author, with books from several different European-based cultures in her repertoire. However, in taking this Native American story, making changes, and then filtering it through traditional Western sensibilities, she has done a great injustice. The original tale, which I highly recommend all readers to find (it's not difficult), is not about transgression and punishment of the human race for all time through forced labor. Some of the lessons which may be gleaned from the original tale are about learning from our human mistakes, seeking to make the proper amends when we should, and finding forgiveness and acceptance, even abundance, when we do the right things. I suggest readers to find the REAL story of Selu and Kanati, and take their own lessons from what they find. Don't buy this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Different Perspective, November 7, 2006

By 

Library Gaga (NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Two Bad Boys: A Very Old Cherokee Tale (Hardcover)

I view this book differently from the other reviewer. What I get from reading this book is not an abbreviated version of the Selu and Kanati tale, but a portion of it. Being a children's picture book, therefore, not very long or complex, the author has chosen to relate only part of the whole story. I don't see it as a misrepresentation, but a segment. And that segment, while reminding some readers of the Adam and Eve story, reminded me more of the Pandora's Box myth, when all the world's evils were let out of the box.

Meanwhile, the artwork is superb and contributes quite effectively to an enjoyable experience. I would buy this book, knowing it isn't a scholarly treatise and was not written as such.