Status
Available
Local notes
398.2 Coh
Collection
Genres
Publication
Watermill Press (1990), Paperback, 47 pages
Description
Retells the legend of Clamshell Boy, who rescues a captured group of children from the dreaded wild woman Ishcus. Includes information on the customs and lifestyle of the Makah Indians.
Language
Physical description
47 p.; 8.96 inches
User reviews
LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26
Although Salmonberry's mother warns her to return to their village before dark, in order to avoid Basket Woman - a fearsome giant said to haunt the beach, and make off with naughty children, in order to roast and eat them - the young Makah girl convinces herself, and her friends, that there is
This folktale from the Makah people of Neah Bay, Washington is the second entry in the Native American Legends series that I have read, after First Woman and the Strawberry: A Cherokee Legend, by Gloria Dominic, and follows the same format, presenting the tale first, and following it with a brief factual introduction to the people from which it came. I was really quite disappointed to see that the latter focuses exclusively on the historical Makah, rather than their present-day descendants, although this isn't that uncommon, in children's books about Native Americans. The story itself was interesting, although I would have preferred to know what source the author used, in telling it.
All in all, Clamshell Boy was a pleasant, but unremarkable read, with appealing, but slightly generic stylized illustrations. If it sounds like I'm damning it with faint praise, I am: this was a fairly low three stars for me. Enough to convince me to try some of Terri Cohlene's other folkloric retellings (I have them all checked out of the library, at the moment), but somehow, not entirely satisfactory either.
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nothing to worry about. When the children are all kidnapped as a result, it falls to Clamshell Boy - who rises out of the clam upon which Salmonberry's mother is weeping - to rescue them, tricking Basket Woman, and luring her to her own destruction...This folktale from the Makah people of Neah Bay, Washington is the second entry in the Native American Legends series that I have read, after First Woman and the Strawberry: A Cherokee Legend, by Gloria Dominic, and follows the same format, presenting the tale first, and following it with a brief factual introduction to the people from which it came. I was really quite disappointed to see that the latter focuses exclusively on the historical Makah, rather than their present-day descendants, although this isn't that uncommon, in children's books about Native Americans. The story itself was interesting, although I would have preferred to know what source the author used, in telling it.
All in all, Clamshell Boy was a pleasant, but unremarkable read, with appealing, but slightly generic stylized illustrations. If it sounds like I'm damning it with faint praise, I am: this was a fairly low three stars for me. Enough to convince me to try some of Terri Cohlene's other folkloric retellings (I have them all checked out of the library, at the moment), but somehow, not entirely satisfactory either.
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Pages
47