Here are my favorites from the first half of the American Indian Fairy Tales unit:
Iagoo the Storyteller: This is a great introduction into the other stories in the unit because it sets the tone so well. I can see everything the narrator is describing from the beautiful beads the children string on their necklaces to the bending bow and strong arrow to the children huddled around the fire in Iagoo's wigwam in the winter. I can hear the North Wind blowing against the walls of the wigwam and imagine the darkness in the surrounding forest. The overall impression I am getting makes me imagine that I am there with the children crowded by the fire hearing these stories just as real children once did on cold winter nights, learning about the rich storytelling tradition that has been passed down from generation to generation. Really wonderful story.
Shen-ge-bis Fools the North Wind, Part 1: Another great introductory section, this time to the story about Shen-ge-bis and how he plans to outlast the harsh, freezing North Wind when he brings winter to the land. I love stories from other, older cultures that explain why things are the way the are or how things came to be the way they are. I especially love Sha-won-dasee, the South Wind who lives in a land (you guessed it, in the south) where it is perpetually summer. The description of this place is so enticing to me. I would move to this warm southern place in a heartbeat if I could. The good things (at least in my opinion) that Sha-won-dasee brings to the lands that he visits basically include everything that I adore about summer and Ka-bib-on-okka (the North Wind) embodies basically everything I despise about winter. This story intensifies my desire for the warm spring days that are supposed to be just days away this week!
The Little Boy and Girl in the Clouds, Part 1: I don't know what it is with me and the introductory sections of this unit, but I am loving them. The places they describe seem like paradises to me. In this story, the beautiful scenery is that of a valley at the beginning of time where man and animals were friends. The grass is a green carpet that stretches like soft carpet from one wall of the world to another, dotted by colorful flowers and cut across by a glittering river that all the animals come to in order to drink from it. So basically, I just want to live in all the places these stories are set in or mention. Now would be a good time to mention the gorgeous illustrations in this unit. Soft, tranquil water color illustrations perfectly capture the beauty of the settings as well as the overall feeling created in these stories. Just look at that picture down there! Wouldn't you want to live in that valley, too?
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| Beautiful valley from The Little Boy and Girl in the Clouds Illustrated by John Rae |
The Child of the Evening Star, Part 1: I like this introductory section for a whole different reason than I liked the other ones. This story feels like a prototypical fairy tale. The heroine is beautiful but humble and is not concerned with outward beauty or riches. She has sisters who are also beautiful but who do not have as kind of hearts as she does (it also seems like a typical fairy tale convention for the "best" sister to be the youngest). The heroine turns away many eligible suitors because she doesn't like what she sees in their hearts and instead marries an old man, who is by far the most worthy. Compared to the previous stories, this one just seems like the most "fairy-tale-like." I predict that the couple will face a difficulty in the remaining parts of the story but will overcome them and live happily ever after.
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