Coyote and the Grasshoppers: A Pomo Legend

"Coyote and the Grasshoppers: A Pomo Legend," tells the story of what happened when a drought fell upon the land and Clear Lake dried up. The medicine men sang chants and the people danced for rain, but none came. At that same time Coyote was roaming the dry land searching for water to drink, when he saw a large cloud moving across the land that turned out to be a swarming mass of grasshoppers that was eating everything in their path. This would make life even harder for the Pomos, and Coyote could not understand why these terrible things were happening. So he howled and the Great Spirit answered him, telling Coyote to eat his fill of grasshoppers, because if he did that all else will follow. "All creatures are on earth for a reason, the Great Spirit tells Coyote, "You will discover the reason for grasshopper if you do as I say." That is the set up for this Pomo legend, retold by Gloria Dominic and illustrated by Charles Reasoner, and what I like about it is that it makes young readers think about how eating a whole bunch of grasshoppers will put water back in Clear Lake. The Great Spirit has made it clear there is a reason for the horde of grasshoppers, and young readers should have some sort of idea of the cycle of life, even if it is just the opening of "The Lion King." However, I was anticipating something a bit more realistic than what happens because I was thinking that this would be creative way of explaining the basic cycle of life in the desert. Consequently, "Coyote and the Grasshoppers" ends up being more of a mystical tale than a myth that provides a way of explaining why things are the way they are. As is the case with these Native American Lore & Legend volumes, the back of the book is devoted to providing background on the Native American people from which this particular legend was taken. The Pomo homeland was north of San Francisco Bay, and this section of the book looks at the people, their food and clothing, and how today the Pomo live on small rancherias instead of on large reservations. The section is illustrated with historic photographs of the Pomo along with contemporary photographs of Pomo artifacts, particularly the beautiful ornate Pomo baskets. A Glossary defines a few key terms from "Acorn" to "Tule," while a list of Important Dates begins with Columbus landing in American in 1492 and ends with the 1968 Indian Civil Rights Act giving Native Americans the right to govern themselves on their reservations. The sections in the back of these volumes are brief, but they do provide an introduction to the culture of the various Native American people whose legends are being retold. Other volumes in the Native American Lore & Legend series include "First Woman and the Strawberry: A Cherokee Legend," "Sunflower's Promise: A Zuni Legend," "Red Hawk and the Sky Sisters: A Shawnee Legend," and "Brave Bear and the Ghosts: A Sioux Legend." All of these are retold by Gloria Dominic and illustrated by Charles Rea

I am a first grade student who just read this book. I loved all the pictures. I liked the picture of the coyote howling to the Great Spirit. The Great Spirit told the coyote how to eat the grasshoppers and help the Pomo Indians. My name is Kaitlin and I am learning all about grasshoppers. This book helped me learn some new things.