Inspired by the symbols and themes of the Mayan "bible," the Popol Vuh, Wahl (Little Eight John) concocts a lyrical but somewhat arbitrarily structured fable that unfolds in a south-of-the-border, Eden-like setting. When Corn Grower succumbs to the temptation of killing animals solely for personal adornment, eagles carry off his son, Small Ears, seemingly to prevent the child from following in his father's ruthless footsteps. The point is murky, however, since the child's eventual return is occasioned not by the father's reform but by happenstance (the eagles finally grow frustrated trying to raise a wingless child). Vandenbroeck's (The Mouse Bride) luminous, atmospheric and abundantly green illustrations recall a primordial time when animals dominated the earth. Even without a particularly substantial story, the textual and visual imagery transports the reader to a mysterious, mythical place. Ages 7-up.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3?Drawing on symbols found in the Mayan Popul Vuh, Wahl has created an original fable about a man who takes more than he needs from the natural world and must pay the consequences. The story begins with the first family living in their own version of Eden: Moon-Sun (woman), Corn Grower (man), and Small Ears (their infant son). Corn Grower grows jealous of the animals and kills a coati for its fur, a quetzal for its feathers, a turtle for its shell, and an armadillo to make a guitar. Lord Eagle is horrified and steals Small Ears so that the child might be raised properly, and an angry Corn Grower follows in pursuit. But on the way, the man realizes his foolishness and goes home to his grieving wife and a now-barren world. Eagle returns the boy?not because the humans have become wiser, but because Mrs. Eagle says, "This one will never be ours. We must push it from the nest." With Small Ears's return, the land is fertile once again. Vandenbroeck uses the geography and animals of Central America as elements in the somewhat surreal, translucent, deeply colored double-page spreads created with acrylics and colored pencils on texturized paper. Despite its clear ecological message and upbeat hopeful ending, this story is flawed by the illogical flow of events.?Sally Bates Goodroe, Houston Public Library
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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