Arrow to the Sun: A Pueblo Indian Tale (Picture Puffin)

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Summary: Parents:"Sequencing of events"is crucial to comprehension.
Review: Arrow to the sun is a fascinating story of a boy's trials to find the answer to a question. A skill you can emphasize with your reader is to retell the series of trials. Questioning during the telling of a story also reinforces comprehenhsion: What was the boy in search of? Why did the boy become an arrow? What other story can you think of where a character must go through trials to prove him or herself? Who are the Pueblo people? This last question will lead to a study of other Native American cultures and folktales. Teachers: run with this! Use this story as a springboard to the study of the Anasazi,LaKota,Aztec,or Mayan.

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Summary: A memorable childhood book
Review: Arrow to the Sun is one of the only books I actually remember from childhood. I remember being particularly struk by the artwork, and the story fascinated me. It's the tale of a boy's search for his father, which leads him on a dazzling voyage on an arrow to the sun.

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Summary: Arrow To The Sun By Gerald McDermont
Review: I don't think I can judge Gerald McDermott's 1975 Caldecott winning picture book, "Arrow to the Sun" fairly. You see, I am a child of the 80s. I remember the early days of Colico Vision and Atari. I have very clear images in my head of some of the first arcade games, like Q-Bert, Donkey Kong, and Super Mario Brothers. Why do I invoke such images when I'm (supposedly) reviewing "Arrow to the Sun"? Because like these games, "Arrow to the Sun" suffers for its time period. Author/illustrator Gerald McDermott strived very hard to make this story both deeply original and timeless. In many ways, he has succeeded. But if you, like myself, played a single pixilated arcade game in the late 70s or early to mid 80s then you'll take one look at this book and notice its video game aspects. It's a beautiful story. It's just tainted in the eyes of the children of the 80s.

In this retelling of an ancient legend (or so the bookflap assures me), we learn about a boy unlike any other. When the Lord of the Sun sent a "spark of life" to earth, it found a young woman in a pueblo. The woman then gave birth to a son who found himself desperate to know his father. The boy leaves home and finally comes to realize from whom he is descended. To prove himself to the Lord of the Sun he withstands numerous video game-like trials and finally is transformed so that he may bring the Sun's spirit to the world of men.

Echoes of this story have been found around the world in everything from the birth of Christianity to ancient Zeus-appears-as-a-shaft-of-light type tales. This particular rendition of such a story is a little more tasteful in its presentation. McDermott has always had a keen sense of storytelling. This is apparent in everything from his fan-freakin'-tastic, "Zomo the Trickster Rabbit" to the more contemporary "Creation". "Arrow to the Sun" has just the right tone of voice and increasing urgency one needs in a good story.

As for the pictures, they look like characters from a Commodore 64 game. According to all-knowing bookflap, this tale, "captures the stylized look of Pueblo Indian art". I'm fairly certain I've seen Pueblo Indian art before. And I'm almost certain it didn't give me urges to go play Load Runner or Frogger. While much of the art in this book is very beautiful (the design on our hero's chest is a lovely geometric shape) it suffers from its form. The colors are beautiful, no question. The designs on many of the pictures is great. But the odd blocky pixel-like look is jarring and (to my mind) overly familiar.

So unfortunately, McDermott ended up doing something he didn't want to. His intentions, I'm certain, were to create something timeless. Instead, he make a picture book that remains firmly stuck in the age of Pac-Man. If arcade settings and characters don't disturb you, you may be the perfect consumer for this tale. If, on the other hand, you prefer your picture books to be a little lovelier and a little less circa 1983, you might want to pass this puppy by. Just a warning to you Gen X parents out there.

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Summary: I heard it from himself
Review: I was yesterday in a Jungian workshop when suddenly there was this man who began to tell us a story. I felt like I child listening to the storyteller of the tribe. He was Gerald, and his story of the arrow from the sun.I love the story and this worderful person with his own myth behind the books.

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Summary: as good as i remember
Review: My mother read this book to me when I was a child, and I remember loving it, but hadn't seen it in probably 15 years until I bought it for my nephew. It is as good as I remember.

I can attest to the fact that the high contrast, brightly colored drawings are mesmerizing for a small child. The best part of the book is when the boy must complete four tasks for the sun god to prove himself. The tasks are not narrated, you get to see how the tasks are completed from how the drawings change. It's so cool! I felt very smart as a little kid being able to discover what he did and figure it our for myself.

On a cultural note, the narrative is similar to the Christ story. Mother gives birth to the boy (a virgin birth) after the sun god sends a ray of energy to her. The boy grows up and wants to know who his father is, and goes on a quest to find him and prove that he is indeed the son of the sun god. (That's why he becomes an arrow to the sun!)

I think it's good for a child to be exposed to this story to begin to understand the universal elements of religion and that all cultures have a lot in common. Even those that seem strange are not so different from our own.

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Summary: as good as i remember
Review: My mother read this book to me when I was a child, and I remember loving it, but hadn't seen it in probably 15 years until I bought it for my nephew. It is as good as I remember.

I can attest to the fact that the high contrast, brightly colored drawings are mesmerizing for a small child. The best part of the book is when the boy must complete four tasks for the sun god to prove himself. The tasks are not narrated, you get to see how the tasks are completed from how the drawings change. It's so cool! I felt very smart as a little kid being able to discover what he did and figure it our for myself.

On a cultural note, the narrative is similar to the Christ story. Mother gives birth to the boy (a virgin birth) after the sun god sends a ray of energy to her. The boy grows up and wants to know who his father is, and goes on a quest to find him and prove that he is indeed the son of the sun god. (That's why he becomes an arrow to the sun!)

I think it's good for a child to be exposed to this story to begin to understand the universal elements of religion and that all cultures have a lot in common. Even those that seem strange are not so different from our own.

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Summary: Creation, Quest, and Spreading the Spirit in Fabulous Images
Review: The story here is a Native American Pueblo tale. It begins when "Long ago the Lord of the Sun sent the spark of life to earth." "It traveled down the rays of the sun, through the heavens, and it came to the Pueblo." "There it entered the home of a young maiden." "In this way, the Boy came into the world of men."

Growing up alone with his mother, the boy is derided by the other boys. "Where is your father?" Finally, the boy could take it no more. He left to find his father. The Corn Planter and the Pot Maker could not help him. But the wise Arrow Maker could. The Arrow Maker made the boy into an arrow and shot him into the sun.

The boy claimed to be the son of the Lord of the Sun, but the Lord of the Sun demanded proof. Tests were involved, but the boy was not afraid. He successfully went through the four kivas of lions, serpents, bees and lightning. After the kiva of lightning, he was transformed and was filled with the "power of the sun." The father and his son rejoiced.

The Lord of the Sun said, "Now you must return to earth, my son, and bring my spirit to the world of men." He was sent back as an arrow. "The people celebrated his return in the Dance of Life."

As you can see, this story is a very conceptual one that deals with spiritual matters involving cultural traditions that are probably unfamiliar to your child. The book will be easier to understand if you explain a little about the religious beliefs of the Pueblo Native Americans before reading this book to your child. You will also need to explain the point about how not having a father present can create a stir. The arrow transfers can be explained as magic, and the search itself can be likened to a quest of the sort that knights often undertook. The spiritual connection can be explained in terms of your own religious beliefs or tradition.

The story is also a metaphor for the planting cycle, as well as the cycle of life and death.

The key reason to read this book is to see some of the most remarkable modern renderings ever created of classic southwestern Native American pictograms. These pictograms are built from stylized geometric components combined into other geometric forms in a palette built mostly from yellow, orange, red, brown, and black. As accents, turquoise and green are added. These images are created with gouache (a thick form of water color) and preseparated black lines. These geometric shapes take literal beings and turn them into spiritual, conceptual ones. If you are like me, the transformation of the boy into the power of the rainbow against a sky of black will take your breath away. Not surprisingly, this book won Mr. McDermott the coveted Caldecott Medal in 1975 as the best illustrated children's book.

After you finish enjoying the story of the book, I suggest that you also help your child understand some of the legends of other peoples in other times about planting and harvesting, as well as the manhood tests. If you are not familiar with any, The Golden Bough can be a good source for you. I remember being impressed as a child by how similar the beliefs are across cultures about common experiences like those related to agriculture. That impression helped me be more open about what appeared to be differences when I met people from other cultures. I was inclined to assume that we had more in common than our different clothes, manners, and languages would have suggested.

Connect to the funamental way the sun serves as the ultimate source of food and power for us all!

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Summary: Why I love Arrow to the Sun
Review: This book just calls to me. I love the words, I love the pictures. Most of the time when I read a book over and over I get bored with the book. But every time I read this book I love it even more. I give it 5 stars. I think it is the best book ever.

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Summary: A Pueblo Indian tale.
Review: This children's book is based on an old Pueblo Indian tale about a boy who is son of the Sun and who wishes to meet his father. He is shaped into an arrow and shot towards the Sun. He meets several tests and his father has him return to Earth to teach man of the Sun's spirit. The book won the 1975 Caldecott Medal for best illustrations in a book for children. Children will love the story and the colors of the book have a great appeal.

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Summary: Why I love Arrow to the Sun
Review: With dismay, I read the customer reviews of this book. There are 19 Pueblos in New Mexico, and more in Arizona. Which Pueblo is this book about? There is great variation from one to the other. Most troubling, however, is McDermott's presentation of the kiva. Our kivas are not places of trial. They are more akin to churches and temples where cultural knowledge is passed on from one generation to the next. Finally, extended families are central to Pueblo culture, and there is no stain of illegitimacy conferred on those who don't know who their father is. This book should NOT be used to teach about Pueblo Indians. These errors are major ones.