This retelling of a folktale from the Cree tribe--the debut of both collaborators--explains how rain finally returned to the "parched and dry" land, after Cloud was driven away in favor of Grandfather Sun's warmth and light. When people and animals alike begin to suffer from the sun's unshaded rays, a boy goes in search of the great spirit on the other side of the forest called Wisahkecahk. He is given a magical fish skin, which--in an odd and unexplained twist--he climbs inside, and like a giant fish himself is able to bring water back to the land from the lake, which in turn becomes rain. Written with the vibrancy of folk literature in the oral tradition, Olivero's forthright prose is nicely suited for reading aloud. The visual presentation, however, is too amateurish and stiff to advance the text; many of Morrisseau's wildlife pictures, bright to the point of garishness, cramp the pages. Ages 4-7.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-A book with a problematic format and a stilted plot that makes a heavy-handed attempt to promote tolerance among people. The graphic layout is difficult to follow; set in a wide array of typefaces, the text spirals around in dizzying circles and is placed at odd angles, making it cumbersome to read. The rather avant-garde artwork is rendered in the shadow of Lane Smith's style, but lacks his child appeal. The story is troublesome: an eccentric nonconformist, John Jeremy Colton, snubbed by his adult neighbors (the kids love him), saves his most outspoken critic from a fire and they learn to look past their differences and live in harmony. This book tries too hard, and will leave readers dissatisfied with the pat ending.
Elizabeth Hanson, Chicago Public Library
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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