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50books_pocWhen I was a kid I enjoyed Virginia Hamilton's collection of African-American folktales, The People Could Fly, so I was hoping I'd like this book of creation story retellings.
The stories, which range from ancient Greece and the Bible to various lesser-known societies of Oceania, Asia, and the Americas, are of course fascinating in their own right, but as I read on I became increasingly uncomfortable. The people who first told the story of Pandora are long gone and perhaps beyond caring how it is retold, and Hamilton can claim the Christian creation story as part of her own tradition, but what of the rest? Did the people of the Marshall Islands or Tahiti tell her she could repeat their stories? Did they have the opportunity to review what she had written and say whether it was accurate or appropriate?
At the front of the book Hamilton thanked some academic writers and researchers for allowing her to use the stories. I would love to believe that, where applicable, the people to whom the stories actually belonged were consulted. Call me cynical, but I doubt it. The origins of the stories are only briefly mentioned at the end of each one, as though they're just generic, contextless Creation Myths and the people who originate them barely merit a footnote. The writing style of the book is aimed at the middle grades, but I wouldn't give it to a kid unless they were mature enough to question the validity of the presentation.
The illustrations by Barry Moser (who is white if I'm not mistaken) are technically proficient but pretty bland, and some of them are completely inappropriate. One Siberian story (I would say which Siberian people told it, but Hamilton does not inform us!) that explains how the first dog got his fur is accompanied by a formal portrait of a pure-bred spaniel wearing a collar. What was he thinking? Did anyone think at all when this book was being put together?
As I said, I liked at least one of Hamilton's other books, so hopefully this was a rare lapse. In any case, it was very disappointing.
tags: a: hamilton virginia, w-illus: moser barry, african-american (author), religion, folklore, middle grades
The stories, which range from ancient Greece and the Bible to various lesser-known societies of Oceania, Asia, and the Americas, are of course fascinating in their own right, but as I read on I became increasingly uncomfortable. The people who first told the story of Pandora are long gone and perhaps beyond caring how it is retold, and Hamilton can claim the Christian creation story as part of her own tradition, but what of the rest? Did the people of the Marshall Islands or Tahiti tell her she could repeat their stories? Did they have the opportunity to review what she had written and say whether it was accurate or appropriate?
At the front of the book Hamilton thanked some academic writers and researchers for allowing her to use the stories. I would love to believe that, where applicable, the people to whom the stories actually belonged were consulted. Call me cynical, but I doubt it. The origins of the stories are only briefly mentioned at the end of each one, as though they're just generic, contextless Creation Myths and the people who originate them barely merit a footnote. The writing style of the book is aimed at the middle grades, but I wouldn't give it to a kid unless they were mature enough to question the validity of the presentation.
The illustrations by Barry Moser (who is white if I'm not mistaken) are technically proficient but pretty bland, and some of them are completely inappropriate. One Siberian story (I would say which Siberian people told it, but Hamilton does not inform us!) that explains how the first dog got his fur is accompanied by a formal portrait of a pure-bred spaniel wearing a collar. What was he thinking? Did anyone think at all when this book was being put together?
As I said, I liked at least one of Hamilton's other books, so hopefully this was a rare lapse. In any case, it was very disappointing.
tags: a: hamilton virginia, w-illus: moser barry, african-american (author), religion, folklore, middle grades
