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Overview
The author of THE ROUGH-FACE GIRL creates a magical coming-of-age novel built from thousands of years of Seneca legend. Now in paperback!Crow is a Seneca boy, coming of age in a time of war, in a time before stories. Cast out of the Seneca tribe, Crow and his grandmother struggle merely to find enough food to make it through the harsh winter. Then Crow finds a boulder in the woods that startles him by speaking. The Storytelling Stone tells Crow the great legends of the Seneca--tales of the Long Ago Time, when the Sky Women trod the Above World and a child could alter the ways of a people. Crow comes to realize his own power to effect change and his destiny as a Seneca man. But can the Stone be trusted?
Synopsis
Cast out of the Seneca tribe because they are unable to help make war, Crow and his grandmother struggle to survive alone. Then Crow hears the magnificent voice of the Storytelling Stone -- an ancient rock that tells tales of the Long Ago Time, when the Sky Woman trod the Above World and a child could alter the ways of a people. As he listens to the Stone's stories, Crow comes to realize his own power to effect change and his destiny as a Seneca and a man. THE WORLD BEFORE THIS ONE laces Seneca legends with Crow's narrative to create a story about stories, how they help us live and grow.
Michael Levy - VOYA
In his first work for young adults, Martin, the author of such highly regarded picture books as The Rough-Face Girl and The Shark God, bundles together more than a dozen wonderful tales from the Seneca storytelling tradition. In the frame story, a young boy named Crow, his parents recently dead, lives with his grandmother, who is rumored to be a witch, and is a virtual outcast on the edge of the village. One day while out hunting, he stumbles across a boulder that begins to tell him stories of the Long Ago Time, the great legends of the Seneca people. Among the many stories Crow learns are the tale of how Sky Woman fell to Earth and created Turtle Island, the story of the three brothers who hunt the Great Bear across the sky, and the tale of the trickster figure known as Turkey. Because Crow spends his days listening to stories, he brings back little to eat and his grandmother, suspicious, recruits others to discover what he is doing. They too find themselves captivated by the stone's tales. Eventually Crow is persuaded to dare the anger of the village elders who had him and his grandmother exiled and attempt to convince the chief of the importance of these stories. Martin's simple but dignified prose demonstrates the respect he has for the tales he is retelling, and their authenticity is attested to in an introduction by Peter Jemison, a Seneca Elder. The book also features a series of breathtakingly beautiful illustrations of cut-paper sculptures by Calvin Nicholls. Illus. VOYA CODES: 4Q 2P M (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; For the YA with a special interest in the subject; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8). 2002, Scholastic, 208p,
Editorials
VOYA
In his first work for young adults, Martin, the author of such highly regarded picture books as The Rough-Face Girl and The Shark God, bundles together more than a dozen wonderful tales from the Seneca storytelling tradition. In the frame story, a young boy named Crow, his parents recently dead, lives with his grandmother, who is rumored to be a witch, and is a virtual outcast on the edge of the village. One day while out hunting, he stumbles across a boulder that begins to tell him stories of the Long Ago Time, the great legends of the Seneca people. Among the many stories Crow learns are the tale of how Sky Woman fell to Earth and created Turtle Island, the story of the three brothers who hunt the Great Bear across the sky, and the tale of the trickster figure known as Turkey. Because Crow spends his days listening to stories, he brings back little to eat and his grandmother, suspicious, recruits others to discover what he is doing. They too find themselves captivated by the stone's tales. Eventually Crow is persuaded to dare the anger of the village elders who had him and his grandmother exiled and attempt to convince the chief of the importance of these stories. Martin's simple but dignified prose demonstrates the respect he has for the tales he is retelling, and their authenticity is attested to in an introduction by Peter Jemison, a Seneca Elder. The book also features a series of breathtakingly beautiful illustrations of cut-paper sculptures by Calvin Nicholls. Illus. VOYA CODES: 4Q 2P M (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; For the YA with a special interest in the subject; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8). 2002, Scholastic, 208p,— Michael Levy