Title: The Journey Of Tunuri And The Blue DeerAuthor: James Endredy
Illustrator: Maria Hernandez and Casimiro De La Cruz Lopez
Suggested Age Group: Ages 3-6
Publisher, Year: Bear Cub Books, 2003
Continent that the book addresses: North America
Be it the Seneca or Inuit or Huichol or Iroquois or Cherokee…..any Native American tribe, inspite of the differences and animosity between them, one thing that is common is their respect for nature and belief that man co-exists with nature.
In this Huichol folklore, Tunuri, an adventurous boy gets lost in the woods when he is on a pilgrimage to the scared mountain. Tunuri begins to panic, but is appeased by a blue deer that leads him back to his family. On the way, the blue deer takes Tunuri to ‘Father Sun’, ‘Brother Wind’, ‘Sister Water’, ‘Mother Earth’ and ‘Grandfather Fire’ and makes Tunuri realize that Man must consider the five elements as his family because without these elements no life can exist on this planet.
Praba originally recommended this book and when I googled it I read about the yarn drawings by the Huichol. I simply HAD to see it. Since the book was hold in our local library, I bought the book. I have to say that I am impressed. In terms of preparing the surface for the painting, order in which the painting is rendered, theme, visualizing the end product, patience and time etc, I could draw a lot of parallels between the Huichol yarn drawings and Tanjore painting. Just like in Tanjore paintings, the Huichol, first prepare the canvas – a smooth wooden board to which beeswax is first applied. Then yarn is cut in to small pieces and is applied to the board to for the main figure. Then comes the fillings and finally the background.
Check http://www.jamesendredy.com/pages/tatewari.htm for samples of some yarn drawings.
9 comments:
We love any book glorifying nature! I checked out the yarn art - intricate and colorful; the circular one even reminded me of our rangoli:)Interesting pick P and A, thanks.
Lovely Yarn paintings...
Thanks...
Interesting info about the style of painting ! The cover page looks very attractive and makes me want to pick this book and see for myself.
Love kids' books where the illustrations are a work of art, makes it a real treasure!
Had come across this book where the story was set in modern times but the illustrations are in Madhubani style. So for example there is a little girl on a bicycle in the story but depicted in Madhubani drawings. Will dig it out and tell you.
Love all your picks!
Great review, UTBT..
Yes, the yarn art... kids loved it when we read the book. Story of Huichol Indians - very enlightening The five elements family - Grandpa Fire, Father Sun, Mother Earth, Brother Wind, Sister water...LOVELY!! :-) And I loved the part about the spiritual underpinning - as in how the boy is expected to pass on the story to others who were walking with him! Inspiring, isn't it?
wow! isn't it amazing how cultures separated by so many continents have such similar forms of art.
Thanks, UTBT! I loved every one of your picks!
Yarn art? This i *must* check out! Thanks utbt for three wonderful selections in a row! Reminds me of this craft work my mom used to do with colorful bits of yarn glued onto some chosen outline, usually gods from Hindu mythology...
Thanks everybody. Do grab the book when you get a chance.
And, I did, finally! Loved the art work, and loved the story as it coincided with Ana learning a song in school that goes something like, "Earth is our Mother, we must take care of her... Sun is our Father... Wind is our brother..." and so on... and the story made her ponder on Nature and the World around us and how interdependent we are, like a huge family... Nice pick, utbtkids, thanks again!
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