Touching the Distance: Native American Riddle-Poems - Hardcover

Swann, Brian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0152008047 ISBN 13: 9780152008048

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers, 1998

Synopsis

A riddle is a question with a surprising answer. A poem is an unexpected view of the world around us. Combine the two, and you have this collection of twenty-two riddle-poems gathered from Native American sources by Brian Swann, a preeminent scholar, poet, and collector of riddles from around the globe. With stunning illustrations, this remarkable book encourages all to see the world anew.

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Reviews

Grade 3-6?Fifteen riddle poems from Native America, dominated by eight from Mexican tribes and four from Alaskan sources, tease with simple, accessible rhythms. Placement of the words on the pages plays a part in the poetry. Source references for the riddles appear with answers on the last page. Rendon's stunning "mixed-media constructions" shimmer on each right-side page. The artist uses wood carving, stones, fabrics, etchings, metal, pepper seeds, egg shells, and intensely bright colors of paint to create marvels that appear to be three dimensional and achieve whimsical harmony with the text as they subtlely reveal the answers. The riddles offer children a unique literary challenge, particularly if used in conjunction with Swann's A Basket Full of White Eggs (Orchard, 1988; o.p.) and The House with No Door (Harcourt, 1997). Paired here with Rendon's equally clever and penetrating collages, everyone wins.?Jacqueline Elsner, Athens Regional Library, GA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A companion volume to Swann's earlier collection, A Basket Full of White Eggs (1988); in this compilation, 14 haiku-like riddles are posed opposite vibrant mixed-media sculpted images that contain the answers. Most pertain to the natural world, metaphorically linking a moth's movement to a dancer in a white robe or a mosquito's high-pitched whine to the ringing of a small bell. The answer key given at the end identifies the riddle's origins, ranging from Alaska to Bolivia, but without page numbers or corresponding identification, it's clumsy to use. Many of the riddles can be found in John Bierhorst's Lightning Inside You (1992); the originality lies in the three-dimensional collage-like art pieces that employ a range of materials beyond cut paper and paint, such as shaped wire, clay, tile, and cloth, along with such everyday objects as seeds, eggshells, stones, and painted corn. Dazzling to the eyes, these pages tease the mind and jump-start the imagination. (Picture book. 5-10) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Gr. 3^-6, with adult help. Children who like guessing games may enjoy this picture-book collection of 14 succinct riddle-poems. Each selection is accompanied by a picture of an unusual collage construction, which hints at the answer to the riddle. Some of the answers are fairly easy to guess, but many are challenging. For example, a riddle from Mexico, which shows the humor of its Amizgo creator, reads: "There is that person--if you eat his mouth / he'll eat yours." The answer: a chili pepper. Children will become engaged in both the rhyme and the mystery as they attempt to solve the riddles, which open a door on new ways of looking at the world. Swann includes answers and notes at the end of the book. Behind the King's Kitchen: A Roster of Rhyming Riddles (1992) is another good source of riddles for youngsters. Karen Morgan

Edition details

• Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0152008047
• ISBN 13: 9780152008048
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Rendon Maria
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32