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Sunday
March 21, 2010 Since 1922 |
Author weaves Native American tales
By JoAn Martin
Baytown Sun Published September 12, 2004 Max, Jill. Spider Spins a Story: Fourteen Legends from Native America. Illustrator Robert Annesley. Flagstaff, AZ. Rising Moon 1996. Hardback. 65 pages.
Many people of American Indian ancestry are searching to reconnect with their roots. After consulting with storytellers and tribal members, Kelly Bennett and Ronia K. Davidson, using the pseudonym, Jill Max, have woven these silken story threads together.
The first story in this collection is the Great Flood from the Keowas. Grandfather Snake and Grandmother Spider were the only survivors.
The Northwest Coast tribes tell stories in which the traits of the spider web are maintained, but the spider continues to help other small size insects. The spider is the unifying thread in the literature of Native American cultures.
The Osage spider legend claims that insects and animals still talk, but we, the humans have forgotten how to listen.
In a Zuni legend, Swift Runner falls for the Trickster Tarantula’s prank and loses his beautiful clothes.
One Muskogee myth came from Alabama and Georgia. Their legend tells about how the hunters learned to trap their prey. Another Indian uses four sticks and sinew to make a dreamcatcher which looks like a spider web. A crippled boy believed in it with all his heart and was healed.
Kelly Bennett has written several Rookie Readers utilizing trivia, traditions, and crafts. She has won several writing awards and published eight books for children.
JoAn Martin reviews children’s books for The Baytown Sun. She is a retired teacher. She may be reached at josbook(at)mindspring.com.
Baytown Sun Published September 12, 2004 Max, Jill. Spider Spins a Story: Fourteen Legends from Native America. Illustrator Robert Annesley. Flagstaff, AZ. Rising Moon 1996. Hardback. 65 pages.
Many people of American Indian ancestry are searching to reconnect with their roots. After consulting with storytellers and tribal members, Kelly Bennett and Ronia K. Davidson, using the pseudonym, Jill Max, have woven these silken story threads together.
The first story in this collection is the Great Flood from the Keowas. Grandfather Snake and Grandmother Spider were the only survivors.
The Northwest Coast tribes tell stories in which the traits of the spider web are maintained, but the spider continues to help other small size insects. The spider is the unifying thread in the literature of Native American cultures.
The Osage spider legend claims that insects and animals still talk, but we, the humans have forgotten how to listen.
In a Zuni legend, Swift Runner falls for the Trickster Tarantula’s prank and loses his beautiful clothes.
One Muskogee myth came from Alabama and Georgia. Their legend tells about how the hunters learned to trap their prey. Another Indian uses four sticks and sinew to make a dreamcatcher which looks like a spider web. A crippled boy believed in it with all his heart and was healed.
Kelly Bennett has written several Rookie Readers utilizing trivia, traditions, and crafts. She has won several writing awards and published eight books for children.
JoAn Martin reviews children’s books for The Baytown Sun. She is a retired teacher. She may be reached at josbook(at)mindspring.com.