When Cinnibah, who lives alone with her widowed father, breaks her mother’s metate (grinding stone), she undertakes a quest through Navajoland to find someone to mend it. First she meets the Moccasin Maker, who directs her to the Pottery Maker, who in turn guides her to the Stone Cutter. This elder tells Cinnibah that he cannot mend her stone—but he will give her a new set. It’s a quiet tale; Cinnibah’s adventure clearly takes her into a realm of Navajo archetypes, and her eventual success is never in doubt. Wound through the tale are lessons for both Cinnibah and reader: A broken metate must be restored to the mountain; elders should be treated with respect and have much to offer younger generations. Set against Yazzie’s monumental paintings of Dinétah, Cinnibah’s red skirt and blue top provide vivid counterpoint to the ochres and browns of the desert landscape. The tale unfolds in both English and Navajo, the bilingual layout making it clear to non-Navajo readers that both language and culture remain vigorous. (author’s note) (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: July 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-893354-92-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Salina Bookshelf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2008
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
Sloat collaborates with Huffman, a Yu’pik storyteller, to infuse a traditional “origins” tale with the joy of creating. Hearing the old women of her village grumble that they have only tasteless crowberries for the fall feast’s akutaq—described as “Eskimo ice cream,” though the recipe at the end includes mixing in shredded fish and lard—young Anana carefully fashions three dolls, then sings and dances them to life. Away they bound, to cover the hills with cranberries, blueberries, and salmonberries. Sloat dresses her smiling figures in mixes of furs and brightly patterned garb, and sends them tumbling exuberantly through grassy tundra scenes as wildlife large and small gathers to look on. Despite obtrusively inserted pronunciations for Yu’pik words in the text, young readers will be captivated by the action, and by Anana’s infectious delight. (Picture book/folktale. 6-8)
Pub Date: June 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-88240-575-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2004
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