The Dog Who Walked with God

A retelling of a Kato creation story finds the Great Traveler accompanied by his faithful canine companion when he journeys to Earth and creates the land and its creaturs.

Grade 1-4ADrawn from the mythology of the Kato Indians, an Athapascan people of northern California, the lush, poetic text of this creation myth retains the musical cadence and pictorial language of a storyteller. It describes the re-creation of the world after an all-destroying flood. The godlike Great Traveler, accompanied by his dog, descends to Earth; builds the mountains from gray clay; places plants and trees everywhere; restores the clouds, fog, dew, and thunder; makes a man and woman; sets the sun and moon in the sky; stocks the waters with all manner of creatures; and adds a multitude of birds and animals. As he and his dog leave in a glowing sunset, all the world is good again. Lambent watercolors ranging from double-page spreads to small vignettes reflect the glory of the newly created land, sky, and water. Some paintings are laid out like studies in an artist's sketchbook, adding variety to the scenes. The Great Traveler is a large, almost transparent figure who walks over the countryside appreciating the riches and beauty he is bestowing. Children will enjoy just looking at the variety of birds, fish, and animals pictured so skillfully. An author's note describes the source for this story.APatricia Pearl Dole, formerly
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Rosen's (Down to Earth) disjointed retelling of a Kato creation legend describes a time in which land, animals and man have all been washed away; now the Great Traveler, with a dog as his companion, is recreating the world from its vast waters. In first-timer Fellows's dramatic watercolors, the vague gray figure of Great Traveler emerges from the darkness to join his dog, fully formed and in color. Sometimes Great Traveler takes the shape of a giant, his fingers holding a birch tree between them or piling a giant pillar of rocks, other times he stands man-sized atop a cliff or strolls through a field. The ambiguity of the deity may be confusing to readers, who will likely be most at home with the breathtaking landscapes and insets of wildlife. In a stunning spread, Fellows effectively uses a sketch-journal approach, reminiscent of da Vinci's, to chronicle the making of man. This technique?pencil drawings with a judicious use of brown watercolor wash?suggests shadows of things to come, ideas of beings not yet materialized. Rosen's text, which purportedly echoes the cadence of a Kato man's narration recorded in 1906, is less effective and comes off as clumsy (e.g., " 'For what shall I make the sun?' he said, they say, and he decided fire, for heat"). Gaps in logic may trouble readers, too (e.g., why is the Great Traveler so perplexed by his own creation? And why was the world wiped out to begin with?). Visual feast though this may be, it is best served alongside other creation myths to help readers grapple with the discrepancies. Ages 6-up.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 5^-9. This creation story, told by the Kato Indians of northern California, begins after the people and animals of the world have been swept away by water. Then the Great Traveler, accompanied by a dog, begins fashioning a new earth: "And soon a mountain became a somewhere from the everywhere that was water." The creation story continues, with a refrain, "The Great Traveler said, they say," used to emphasize the spoken tradition of the tale as each new thing is made and named. There is no Mother Nature here. The story is very masculine: the Great Traveler is shown in faint outlines as an unclothed male figure, while all around him, in delicately realistic watercolors, the world is formed. The lovely, carefully detailed scenes of natural beauty are reminiscent of Jim Arnosky's work, with each animal identifiable despite being partially hidden. Susan Dove Lempke