Crow and Hawk: A Traditional Pueblo Indian Story - Hardcover

Rosen, Michael

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1858911435 ISBN 13: 9781858911434

Publisher: Texas Bookman, 1995

Synopsis

This age-old Native American story from the Pueblo people addresses a contemporary issue. Crow sits on her clutch of eggs, but eventually gets tired and flies away. Hawk takes pity on the eggs and, once hatched, rears the baby crows as her own. Then Crow returns and it seems the chicks have two mothers. Only Eagle, King of the Birds, can decide who keeps them. Full color.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

Abandoned babies, birth mothers vying with adoptive mothers for custody, a tearful judgment?this Pueblo story has all the ingredients of a bad made-for-TV movie. When Crow abandons her nest, Hawk moves in to care for the eggs, then stays to tend the hatchlings. When Crow finally returns to claim her youngsters, Hawk responds that she is their true mother because she has raised them. Eagle, King of the Birds, sides with Hawk and bluntly tells a crying Crow that "this is the way it must be. You left the nest; you have lost the children." Just as distressing as the cheerless story, though, is the overstimulating chaos of pattern, color and scenes-within-scenes in Clementson's cut-paper collages. In contrast to the restraint he showed in the vibrant illustrations for How Giraffe Got Such a Long Neck (which Rosen also wrote), there is neither visual hierarchy in these pictures nor an easy point of entry for the young audience. Ages 3-8.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 4^-8. Crow is tired of sitting on the eggs in her nest and abandons them, so Hawk takes over and continues to care for the baby crows after they hatch. When Crow returns and tries to take the babies back, Hawk refuses to relinquish them. The birds appeal to Eagle, king of the birds, who, after listening to what the little crows have to say, tells Crow she has lost her children because she deserted them. Vivid cut-paper collages with colorful borders fill the pages and reflect the directness, simplicity, and clarity of the text. The story is an especially pertinent traditional tale because it mirrors contemporary society's increasing struggle with a complex family issue. Told to Ruth Benedict by an elderly storyteller of the Cochiti Pueblo, it appeared in Benedict's 1931 Tales of the Cochiti Indians. Rosen and Clementson's new interpretation is just right for picture-book and folktale collections. Karen Hutt

Edition details

• Publisher: Texas Bookman
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1858911435
• ISBN 13: 9781858911434
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Clementson John
• Number of pages: 32