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ISHI'S TALE OF LIZARD by Leanne Hinton

ISHI'S TALE OF LIZARD

edited by Leanne Hinton & translated by Leanne Hinton & illustrated by Susan R. Roth

Pub Date: Oct. 1st, 1992
ISBN: 0-374-33643-1
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Ishi, last of California's Yahi tribe, emerged from hiding in 1911; his memoirs, including family stories, were subsequently transcribed by anthropologists. Scrupulously acknowledging a long succession of people leading to the present version of this tale, Hinton outlines Ishi's life and describes the story as one with ``no real beginning or end. It has little nuggets of stories in it''; she also explains that the many chant-like repetitions are most effective read aloud. Indeed, the story is episodic, its loosely linked sections detailing how Lizard makes arrows—a process interrupted when his helper is eaten by a grizzly (Lizard gets him safely out) and terminated when a band of Yawi (also shown as lizards) utter war whoops and Lizard shoots his arrows and scatters them. But though the text has the feel of authenticity, Roth's vibrantly handsome collages of paper and fibrous materials are more reflective of the story's emotional than cultural content. (Paul Goble's elegant style does both.) Still, fascinating, valuable source material, in striking format. (Folklore/Picture book. 4-10)