TRADITIONAL LITERATURE BLOG #1: The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush

TRADITIONAL LITERATURE BLOG #1: The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush

A. Bibliographic data

DePaola, Tomie. Ed 1988. The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush. First ed. Hong Kong: South China Printing Co. ISBN 0-399-2153-4

B. Brief plot summary

In the book The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush, Little Gopher is small and left out from the other boys who will grow to be warriors. But Little Gopher has a special gift. A Dream-Vision comes to him on the mountain and explains the way he will become great among his people. He will put paintbrush to buckskin to paint pictures of the deeds of the warriors. Little Gopher follows his Dream-Vision but he cannot seem to find the right colors to paint the magnificent sunset. Finally, at the end of the story Little Gopher goes finds the color of the sunset in beautiful brushes on top of the hill. Later the Indian Paintbrush flowers flourish all over the hills and he earns the title of He-Who-Brought-the-Sunset-to-the-Earth.

C. Critical analysis with specific literary considerations pertinent to each genre.

This folktale retold by Tomie DePaola is a type of Pourquoi tale as it gives an explanation of how the lovely red, orange, yellow (and even pink) Indian Paintbrush flower came to bloom throughout Wyoming, Texas, and the high plains areas of the United States. This folktale story tells a story of sacrifice and value of being true to oneself. The boy works hard at his dream, never gives up and is rewarded in the end for his perseverance.

This Native American folktale helps children to understand and appreciate the Native American culture and is a good multicultural literature to expose young children to. It reads like an orally told story and is thus good for read-alouds.

The illustrations are done in a simple realism style using a painterly media and give the story a true American Indian feel. The watercolors lend to the creation of the beautiful sunset illustrations. The illustrations complement the story as the story would not be the same without them. The reader is able to see the colors of the sunset and rejoice when the Little Gopher finds the paintbrushes with the exact colors he needs. I enjoyed this book when I read it as a child and again reading it as an adult.

D. Review excerpt(s)

Publishers Weekly

In this companion to The Legend of the Bluebonnet, Little Gopher is smaller than the rest of the children in his tribe and can't keep up with those who ride, run, wrestle or shoot with bows and arrows. But, he has a talent of his ownhe is an artist. When he grows older, a Dream-Vision comes to him: a young Indian maiden and her grandfather tell him that he will paint pictures of the great warriors with colors as pure as the evening sky. Little Gopher's paintings never satisfy him because the colors are dull and dark, but he keeps trying. In the night, a voice tells him how to find paint-filled brushes; Little Gopher locates them, and they become brilliantly colored flowers known as Indian Paintbrush. This tale is related with deceptive simplicity by dePaola; he enhances the plainness of the story with his primitive illustrations, and, like Little Gopher, he finds inspiration in the colors of the sunset. Ages 2-7. Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Semrau, R. School Library Journal. Jun/Jul88. Vol. 34 Issue 10, p96.

"Little Gopher was smaller than the other young Indian boys of his Plains tribe, and although he tried hard, he could not do what the others did. The tribe's wise shaman assures him, however, that he has a different gift. As he grows up it is revealed to him in a vision that he will paint pictures of the glories of his tribe, that his own greatest work will someday be ``a picture that is as pure as the colors in the evening sky.'' As he grows older he does indeed paint the great deeds, the hunts, the visions of his tribe. But making paints to match the colors of the evening sky eludes him. One night, a voice directs him to a special vantage point where he finds brushes filled with wonderful colors. He creates at last his masterwork, and the next day the brushes have rooted and become the brilliant flowers we now call Indian Paintbrush. This book will inevitably be compared with The Legend of the Bluebonnet (Putnam, 1983), but the pivotal elements are very different. The humanity expressed in this story illustrates the value of perseverance, and of endurance of effort that will bring its reward. DePaola's softly rounded shapes and his hero's diminutive stature, downcast eyes, and sober mien breathe attitudes of acceptance, of quiet waiting, of diligent persistence. The picture of the boy gazing mutely, patiently, into the western sky is ineffably moving. And de Paola must have had a wonderful time painting the gloriously uplifting skies depicted here."

E. Connections

* Students can read The Legend of the Bluebonnet by Tomie DePaulo
* Discuss the books similarities and differences
* Student can choose a flower or plant and create their own Pourquoi tale, explaining how it came to exist. Students can be creative and illustrate their story. Younger students can dictate to a teacher. This could be and individual, group or whole-class activity.

Lesson Idea derived from
Gretchen Schroederhttp://tiger.towson.edu/~gschro2/childrenslit/multicultural/legendoftheindianpaintbrush.htm
Last Updated: December 9, 2004