Scan barcode
nikkigee81's review against another edition
2.0
1. Culture or group portrayed: Native Americans, specifically Skidi Pawnee.
2. Book information: Cohen, C. (1988). The Mud Pony. New York: Scholastic, Inc.
3. Summary: This is a retelling of a Pawnee folk tale. A poor boy of the tribe wants badly to have a horse of his own, so he fashions one out of mud, and takes care of it as if it were real. One day, the tribe resumes the buffalo hunt, and the boy’s parents, after not being able to find him, leave him behind. The boy is upset and cries himself to sleep, and has a dream that his pony has come to life and speaks to him, telling him that he is not alone. Sure enough, when the boy awakes, the pony is alive and tells him she will take him to his parents. He meets his parents in the dark of night, but is advised by the pony that he cannot stay until daybreak. After several days’ ride, he comes upon the people again, and rides into their midst on his pony. This gets the chief’s attention, and he breaks bread with the boy, and informs him that he must have great power; the boy proves his mettle by riding into battle against an enemy tribe, who they are fighting with over the buffalo. The boy covers himself with mud, per the pony’s advice, and no arrows pierce him. He becomes a leader, and the pony is always with him, until the day that he becomes a chief. The pony tells him that the power came from Mother Earth, not from herself, and that it is time for her to go. He takes away the blanket he has covered her with every night, and goes to his home. In the morning, the pony has been washed away, except for a patch of white mud, and her voice telling him that Mother Earth is always with him and he will never be alone.
4. Cultural/Multicultural evaluation: When I selected this book from the library, I neglected to notice how old it was (published in the late 80s). However, I decided to go with it, as it’s still circulating, and I was curious to see if it had any problems. The author, retelling this Pawnee folktale, is not Native American; however, her illustrator, Shonto Begay, is a member of the Navajo tribe. I feel that his illustrations do justice to Native Americans, and do not seem stereotypical. The young boy of the tale goes about in a breechcloth, and they mention teepees; however, a bit of quick research seems to point that this is historically accurate.
The author does give credit to the original folktale, which was noted down by George Dorsey and published in several books in the early 1900s. However, the picture book I am evaluating here deviates from the story in several ways, some of which I feel are more important than others. In the original story, the chief wants the boy’s pony, in exchange for four of his own. The boy complies, and the chief rides the pony out to hunt buffalo the first chance he gets, and the pony is lamed. This angers the chief, who wants his horses back, and the boy accepts gladly. When the pony is better days later, the chief wants to exchange again, but the boy refuses. I wonder if the story was changed to not make the chief appear like a “bad guy?” There are “bad guys” in every literature, in every walk of life, so to not include this bothers me, especially if one wants to stay true to the original folklore. If you are going to change it, why bother retelling it at all?
5. Conclusion/verdict: This might be a first, but I do not recommend this book, for the reasons stated above. One would be better served sharing the original tale from Dorsey’s books, along with other literature on the Pawnee tribes.
2. Book information: Cohen, C. (1988). The Mud Pony. New York: Scholastic, Inc.
3. Summary: This is a retelling of a Pawnee folk tale. A poor boy of the tribe wants badly to have a horse of his own, so he fashions one out of mud, and takes care of it as if it were real. One day, the tribe resumes the buffalo hunt, and the boy’s parents, after not being able to find him, leave him behind. The boy is upset and cries himself to sleep, and has a dream that his pony has come to life and speaks to him, telling him that he is not alone. Sure enough, when the boy awakes, the pony is alive and tells him she will take him to his parents. He meets his parents in the dark of night, but is advised by the pony that he cannot stay until daybreak. After several days’ ride, he comes upon the people again, and rides into their midst on his pony. This gets the chief’s attention, and he breaks bread with the boy, and informs him that he must have great power; the boy proves his mettle by riding into battle against an enemy tribe, who they are fighting with over the buffalo. The boy covers himself with mud, per the pony’s advice, and no arrows pierce him. He becomes a leader, and the pony is always with him, until the day that he becomes a chief. The pony tells him that the power came from Mother Earth, not from herself, and that it is time for her to go. He takes away the blanket he has covered her with every night, and goes to his home. In the morning, the pony has been washed away, except for a patch of white mud, and her voice telling him that Mother Earth is always with him and he will never be alone.
4. Cultural/Multicultural evaluation: When I selected this book from the library, I neglected to notice how old it was (published in the late 80s). However, I decided to go with it, as it’s still circulating, and I was curious to see if it had any problems. The author, retelling this Pawnee folktale, is not Native American; however, her illustrator, Shonto Begay, is a member of the Navajo tribe. I feel that his illustrations do justice to Native Americans, and do not seem stereotypical. The young boy of the tale goes about in a breechcloth, and they mention teepees; however, a bit of quick research seems to point that this is historically accurate.
The author does give credit to the original folktale, which was noted down by George Dorsey and published in several books in the early 1900s. However, the picture book I am evaluating here deviates from the story in several ways, some of which I feel are more important than others. In the original story, the chief wants the boy’s pony, in exchange for four of his own. The boy complies, and the chief rides the pony out to hunt buffalo the first chance he gets, and the pony is lamed. This angers the chief, who wants his horses back, and the boy accepts gladly. When the pony is better days later, the chief wants to exchange again, but the boy refuses. I wonder if the story was changed to not make the chief appear like a “bad guy?” There are “bad guys” in every literature, in every walk of life, so to not include this bothers me, especially if one wants to stay true to the original folklore. If you are going to change it, why bother retelling it at all?
5. Conclusion/verdict: This might be a first, but I do not recommend this book, for the reasons stated above. One would be better served sharing the original tale from Dorsey’s books, along with other literature on the Pawnee tribes.
More...