398.2

I think John Steptoe does justice to this retelling of a Native American legend. He does acknowledge it's not his story. I would like to have a page in the back that provides sources and resources to further research the story. The pencil illustrations are detailed and wonderfully, cleverly from the perspective of a mouse. ( )

"You will reach the far-off land if you keep hope alive within you." The words of Magic Frog give courage to the young mouse on his long and perilous journey to reach the wonderful land of legend. He faces many obstacles on his quest and sacrifices much to help others in need. But the mouse's compassion and faith in himself prove to be a source of great power...and bring him rewards even beyond his dreams.

Very beautiful and detailed black and white illustrations, and an inspiring retelling by the author.

The thing that concerns me about this book, and keeps me from enjoying it fully, is that no tribe was directly credited with the origin of the story, and I have no way of knowing what exactly the author changed in this retelling. I really would've liked to see an elder or respected storyteller of the tribe get behind this project. I'm also concerned about whether or not this story was meant to be written down and shared- among some tribes, certain stories are meant to stay only within the oral tradition and aren't allowed to be written down.

There are a lot of cultural concerns I have about this book, in general, but it does have a sweet moral and meaning. ( )

1 book