Piecing Earth and Sky Together: A Creation Story from the Mien Tribe of Laos

By Nancy Raines Day

Book Overview

"In the beginning, a helper from heaven named Faam Koh came down to make the sky. His sister, Faam Toh, came down to make the earth..."

So begins the delightful story of a very competitive pair of siblings who use the distinctive embroidery of the Mien people to create the earth and sky. Because both siblings want to make their part of the world the most beautiful, they work in secret until it is finally time to reveal their handiwork, and find out that the two pieces don't fit together

The two try stretching the sky--only to result in some stuffing falling out as clouds, but Faam Toh solves the problem by stitching the fabric into mountains, rivers, gorges, and valleys. Only then do the earth and sky fit together perfectly, allowing all the plants and animals to thrive.

Like the detailed Mien embroidery in the story, Nancy Raines Day's retelling of this traditional Mien tale and Genna Panzarella's striking illustrations complete each other like the earth and sky. Together, they create a book that is alive with the richness and beauty of the Mien culture and of the earth itself. An author's explanation of the tradition and significance of Mien embroidery follows the story.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1885008198
• ISBN13: 9781885008190
• Release Date: November 2001
• Publisher: Shen's Books
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 8.4" x 10.8"
• Age Range: 5 to 9 years
• Grade Range: Kindergarten to Grade 4

Customer Reviews

Patterned endpapers accompany a fine creation story

This creation story from the Mien tribe of Laos provides an intriguing tale of a competitive pair who use the Mien people's embroidery as a pattern to create earth and sky. The siblings work in secret only to find their patterns don't fit together. Samples of traditional stitches and Mien embroidery patterned endpapers accompany a fine creation story.

A magnificently presented story

Nancy Raines Day adapts and retells a Laotian creation story in Piecing Earth & Sky Together. Beautifully illustrated throughout with full color artwork by Genna Panzarella, the story told by a Mein Grandmother is of a very competitive pair who use the dinstinctive embroidery of the Mein tribe to creat the arth and the sky. Because both siblings want to make their part of the world the most beautiful, they work in secret until it is finally time to reveal their handiwork -- only to discover that their two pieces don't fit together! Faam Toh solves the problem by stiching the favric into mountains, rivers, gorges, and valleys. Only then do the earth and sky fit perfectly, allowing all the plants and naimals to thrive. Piecing Earth & Sky Together is a magnificently presented story that would grace any school or community folklore collection for young readers.