American Indian Legends

Book Overview

This exciting collection contains more than thirty richly imaginative stories from a variety of Native American sources -- Cherokee to Zu i, Pawnee to Midu -- covering a broad spectrum of subjects, as well as tales of little people, giants, and monsters, and of magic, enchantment, sorcery, and the spirit world.
Readers will find stories telling how the earth, people, and bison were created and how fire was discovered, while others introduce the hero Glooscap and the Maiden of the Yellow Rocks. Still other traditional tales tell of the troubles Rabbit's boastfulness got him into, and about the clever ways Little Blue Fox managed to escape from Coyote.
Among the stories in this collection are "The White Stone Canoe" (Chippewa), "Raven Pretends to Build a Canoe" (Tsimshian), "The Theft from the Sun" (Blackfoot), "The Loon's Necklace" (Iroquois), "The Rabbit Goes Duck Hunting" (Cherokee), "The Coyote" (Pueblo), and "The Origin of the Buffalo and of Corn" (Cheyenne). Young people will delight in these tales, as will any reader interested in Native American stories or folklore in general.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486414760
• ISBN13: 9780486414768
• Release Date: February 2001
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.1" x 8.4"
• Age Range: 8 to 14 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 9

Customer Reviews

Native American Tales & Legends

This is a great book ! Easy to read, many different legends. I bought it for myself & my 8 year old grandson asked if he could have it, so I ordered one for him. M. Hudson

Very worthwhile for children and adults alike

Compiled by Allan MacFarlan, Native American Tales and Legends compiles myths and stories drawn from the title culture. Featuring more than thirty tales, Native American Tales and Legends feature heroic stories and allegories, folk tales, and tales of the spirit world among others, which is pretty much what anyone at all familiar with the Native American culture would expect. Children will enjoy the fairy tale-like quality and dreamlike states of many of the tales ("Manstin, the Rabbit" in particular) and followers of the culture will enjoy this collection even more so. The only real downside of Native American Tales and Legends is that more material wasn't included in this collection, and that no poetry from the culture is featured either, which contains just as much mythology and heart as any of the other stories featured here. Despite that, this is instantly worth picking up regardless.