School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-4-- This book stands out among pedestrian folktale retellings because of its descriptive verve, narrative coherence, and precision of language. It tells the story of Raven's creation of the world; his filling it with animals, plants and people; and his quest for light. Raven is the trickster/benefactor figure of Puget Sound Native Americans, and like many other tricksters, he must travel to another world, change his form (being born as a human), and steal the Day. Apart from Raven himself, males in the story are obstructive, females are enablers. There is no source acknowledged, and this version differs substantially from that in Ella Clark's Indian Legends of the Pacific Northwest (University of California Pr, 1953), but its liveliness invites reading aloud and rereading. Although the dominant color is the dark blue of the lightless world, there are several colorful pages in the upper world. While some of the art is unremarkable (human figures are especially weak), the spreads depicting the arrival of light are visually exciting. --Patricia Dooley, University of Washington, Seattle (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.