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THE MOUNTAIN GOATS OF TEMLAHAN by William--Retold by Toye

THE MOUNTAIN GOATS OF TEMLAHAN

By

Pub Date: Oct. 29th, 1969
Publisher: Walck

The first is a Glooskap legend of the Micmac Indians of eastern Canada, the second a tale of the Tsimshian Indians of British Columbia; both are reduced to their plot structure--which is strong, and forms the captions to the vivid mixed-media illustrations, which are also strong. In sum, there's not much to linger over. But just as the pictures show better at a distance (the compositional elements tending to cancel each other out close up), the brief, forceful stories are well suited for reading aloud. And if it's an understanding of the Indian ethos that's wanted, the one is a celebration of the seasons, the other assurance that cruelty and greed will be punished and kindness rewarded. One warning: the stiff, extra-heavy stock makes a volume that's hard to open flat.