How Chipmunk Got Tiny Feet: Native American Animal Origin Stories

These Native American animal origin stories have been drawn from Koasati Creek, Navajo and Tsimshian culture. The stories illustrate what happens when pride, greed, envy and other foibles override the common sense that Mother Earth bestowed upon humans and animals alike. The message the author hopes you take away after reading the seven origin tales within: "Here is the world...We must live in it together, not apart."The tales are told as if transcribed from the oral tradition and probably work better if they are presented that way, rather than as a picture book. Older children who are independent readers will be able to handle the text but younger kids will enjoy hearing the stories more in a storytime setting.The illustrations, linoleum block prints painted with watercolor, are well done, but they probably aren't plentiful enough to keep the attention of younger children in a one-on-one reading. Each page outlined in traditional motifs of the tribe whose tale is being told, but there is only one full page and one smaller illustration per tale. I know that my kids, at least, are still at the age they tend to lose track of the narrative if they don't have pictures to focus on. That's why these stories ultimately work better as oral tales.