Pacific Island Legends: Tales from Micronesia, Melanesia, Polynesia and Austrialia - Softcover

Nancy Bo Flood; Beret E. Strong; William Flood

Softcover

ISBN 10: 157306078X ISBN 13: 9781573060783

Publisher: Bess Pr Inc, 1999

Synopsis

Collects forty-three historical or traditional stories from the Pacific Islands, including creation myths and stories of gods, heroes, and ordinary people.

About this title

About the Author:

BO FLOOD, Ph.D., has published several books for children, including a collection of Micronesian myths, From the Mouth of the Monster Eel. She is the 1997 winner of the CNMI Governor's Award in the Literary Arts and an instructor at Northern Marianas College.

BERET E. STRONG holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature from Brown University and an M.F.A. in poetry from Warren Wilson College. While teaching on Saipan and serving on the CNMI Council for the Humanities, she co-produced and directed, with Cinta Matagolai Kaipat, the documentary film Lieweila, about the Refalawasch (Carolinians) of the Northern Mariana Islands.

WILLIAM FLOOD received his M.D. from the University of Minnesota. He writes a weekly health column and has a private pediatric practice in Saipan.

CONNIE J. ADAMS is a well-known Saipan artist who has won numerous regional and national awards, including the Governor's Award in the Visual Arts.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 6 Up-This anthropological tour of the Pacific Islands through legend is as seductive as Bloody Mary beckoning from Bali Hai. Flood acknowledges the paradox of freezing oral stories in print, and attempts to capture each geographical area's history and culture in introductory sections written in a crisp, expository manner. The tales that follow are told in a simple, conversational style. Stories include creation myths, explanations of events, and healthy doses of romance and intrigue where the ocean is the defining element that binds islands and life together. "Micronesia" includes tales from geographically isolated areas (Guam, the Mariana Islands, Palau, the Marshall Islands). From "Melanesia" (Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Fiji, and others), with over 1000 native language groups, come stories of magical powers, cannibalism, and self-sacrifice. Tales from "Polynesia" explain life, love, and death. Only Australian aboriginal myths incorporate landlocked legends about the sun, the kangaroo, and the origin of frost. Intended as a companion volume to anthropology textbooks, Legends stands nicely on its own as an introductory overview, and interested readers can locate additional legends from specific islands through the extensive bibliography. Sidebar definitions and pronunciation keys assist with unfamiliar vocabulary. Woodcut illustrations are beautifully rendered and culturally evocative; unfortunately, there is no map of the islands. Nevertheless, given the quality and scope of the work, this is an admirable collection.
Mary R. Hofmann, Rivera Middle School, Merced, CA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Bess Pr Inc
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 157306078X
• ISBN 13: 9781573060783
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 266
• Illustrator: Connie J. Adams