The Flute Player: An Apache Folk Tale

Native Americna folklore

Grade 1-3-- Through a simple story line and easy, concrete language, Lacapa offers an Apache pourquoi folktale he remembers from his youth. The tale explains that the sound of wind echoing through the canyons comes from the flute of a young brave serenading his sweetheart. When the young man goes on his first hunt without telling her, she is sure she's been forgotten; she becomes ill, and dies. Returning home, the boy learns of her death, and continues to play his flute at her grave. In large, full-page, boldly colored drawings filled with dramatic, abstract shapes and earth colors that are somewhat reminiscent of Gerald McDermott's art in Arrow to the Sun (Viking, 1974), Lacapa creates his own eye-catching style with imaginative stippling, applying one color over another. The print is large, and there are just a few lines of text to a page. This would be a good introduction to Native American folklore for beginning readers, but the sad, sweet story begs to be told aloud--just as it was originally intended. --Yvonne Frey, Peoria Public Schools, IL
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