Flying with the Eagle, Racing the Great Bear: Stories from Native North America - Softcover

Joseph Bruchac

Softcover

ISBN 10: 081673027X ISBN 13: 9780816730278

Publisher: Troll Communications Llc, 1998

Synopsis

A collection of traditional tales which present the heritage of various Indian nations, including the Wampanoag, Cherokee, Osage, Lakota, and Tlingit

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews

Sixteen stories with similar themes, gathered from various Native American traditions. Boys--sometimes with names like ``Bad Young Man'' or ``Boy Who Grew Up Wild''--pass into manhood after they undertake vision quests, heroically slay monsters, or are transformed into animals. Several have magic helpers or receive good advice from elders; strength is displayed by sparing life as well as taking it. In the Navajo ``How the Hero Twins Found Their Father,'' Monster Slayer deliberately allows Hunger, Cold, Poverty and Old Age to go free; the Muskogee Blue Fox makes peace with Cherokee attackers rather than slaughtering them. Though the flavor of Bruchac's spare, formal language is more literary than oral, he has drawn few (if any) of these stories from printed sources; thus, he offers readers new insight into a range of Native American cultures--and into history, too, since he includes a description of Crazy Horse's vision quest, and a subarctic hunter's reminiscence of his first whale hunt. The tales in each regional section are prefigured by Jacob's handsome, white-on-black medallions. Brief reading list; foreword and afterword on the value of oral and cultural transmission. (Folklore. 11-13) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Publishers Weekly

In Native American cultures the passage of a boy into manhood is a highly significant event marked by a variety of rituals. "One powerful way in which the meanings of this transition have been taught for thousands of years is through traditional stories," remarks storyteller/author Bruchac in the introduction to this selection of coming-of-age tales (see also Bruchac's Fox Song , reviewed above). Organized according to the region of North America from which they originate, these brief fables have the moral structure and pungent immediacy found in the more widely known European folktales. In the title story, from the Iroquois, Swift Runner--a small, underestimated boy--becomes a man when he hunts and kills a bear that has murdered members of his tribe. A Caddo story, "The Wild Boy," links the origin of thunder and lightning to two brothers' quest. Ignored by his father, the Pueblo hero of "The Bear Boy" is raised alongside a mother bear's cubs. Words and phrases from various Native American languages liberally stud the well-cadenced text, enhancing the already authentic atmosphere. Ages 10-13.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Troll Communications Llc
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 081673027X
• ISBN 13: 9780816730278
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144