LS 5603 Book Review: THE LOST CHILDREN

Folktale

Bibliography
Goble, Paul.1993. THE LOST CHILDREN. New York, NY: Bradbury Press. ISBN 0027365557

Plot Summary
Among the Blackfoot people there were six orphaned boys who were teased or forgotten by the rest of the tribe. The boys did not want to be people anymore and decided to become stars. One of the children led the way to the above world. When they arrived they entered Sun Man's tipi, who wanted to know why the children were there. The boys replied that people had been unkind to them. Sun Man decided to punish the people for their treatment of the orphans. Sun Man shone down with a terrible heat and caused a drought. After the drought had been going on a long time one of the old dogs prayed to Sun Man. Sun Man saw his animals were suffering and let the rains come to the thirsty earth. Now you can see the lost children high above the earth, we call them the Pleiades, or the Bunched Stars.

Critical Analysis
This retelling of a Blackfoot myth uses very simple language with sparse descriptions. Goble's illustrations that include authentically painted tipis help the reader fill in the gaps. The reader can see how the boys are separate from the rest of the group and have meager supplies.

The beginning of this narrative sets the tone for the story "if we close our eyes we can go back to those days.... we are sitting on buffalo robes in the tipi." This gives us the "once upon a time" sensation to the story. True to the folktale style there is scant character development, all we know about the boys is that they are orphans. Also true to many folktales there is a strong stated moral to the tale, "If only people had remembered that little children are gifts from God...". Since the intended audience of this book is children this moral will resonant with them.

Crucial to the appreciation of the story is the author's note at the end about the tipis. In reading the note we find out all the research that went into the illustrations, "Most are copied from photographs taken by the author over the last twenty years in Montana and Alberta."

Review Excerpts
from SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: "Unchanging in the bright, bold geometry of his instantly recognizable style, Goble's work here, as in the past, is notable both for its graphic design and for the narrative it adorns."

review in PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY: "Goble tells the myth with earnest simplicity, a gentle cadence to his words imbuing the text with particular significance."

Connections
*Other tales about Native American people
Bruchac, Joseph. DOG PEOPLE: NATIVE DOG STORIES. ISBN 1555916864
Bruchac, Joseph. BETWEEN EARTH AND SKY: LEGENDS OF NATIVE AMERICAN SACRED PLACES. ISBN 0152020624
Oughton, Jerrie. HOW THE STARS FELL INTO THE SKY: A NAVAJO LEGEND. ISBN 0395779383
* Have children create a tipi similar to ones in story, include on south flap of tipi the star group of the Lost Children.