9th out of 46 books
—
15 voters
The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush
This vivid retelling of an old Texas legend reveals how the Indian paintbrush, the state flower of Wyoming, first bloomed, and how a young brave dreams of creating a painting that will capture the beauty of a sunset. "A handsome retelling".--Booklist, starred review. An American Bookseller Pick of the List Book. A NCSS Notable Children's Trade Book. Full color.
Paperback, 37 pages
Published
April 16th 1996
by Paperstar Book
There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!
sign in »
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
918)
Few picture book authors, if any, can compare with Tomie dePaola's style in relating old legends from cultures all over the world.
The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush is similar in many ways to another of Tomie dePaola's books, The Legend of the Bluebonnet. Both tales are told with wonderful depth and respect for the peoples from which they were derived. The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush relates the story of a young Indian boy named Little Gopher who grows up feeling different fro...more
The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush is similar in many ways to another of Tomie dePaola's books, The Legend of the Bluebonnet. Both tales are told with wonderful depth and respect for the peoples from which they were derived. The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush relates the story of a young Indian boy named Little Gopher who grows up feeling different fro...more
As an example of Native American mythology, this is a beautiful, moving book. It holds valuable lessons for pagan children as well. It is a teary, wonderful coming-of-age story.
Little Gopher isn't good at the things the other tribe boys are. He doesn't fit in and doesn't feel valuable. The Divine comes to visit him and to bestow upon him an understanding of what his unique gifts are and how he can use those gifts in life to better the lives of those around him. He works hard, fo...more
Little Gopher isn't good at the things the other tribe boys are. He doesn't fit in and doesn't feel valuable. The Divine comes to visit him and to bestow upon him an understanding of what his unique gifts are and how he can use those gifts in life to better the lives of those around him. He works hard, fo...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This is my second favorite book by Tomie DePaola, it is similar to The Legend of the Bluebonnet, which is my favorite of DePaola's books. The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush tells a story of a plains Indian child, Little Gopher, a boy who does not wish to be a warrior. He makes crafts and toys and paints. During his vision quest, he is given a deer skin by two spirits of his tribe. They speak to him of his purpose in life which is as an artist, and they give him directions about how to find ...more
Katelyn Chase
added it
This book I really enjoyed. This a a story I read as a child. It is about a young Indian man who longs to be a warrior, yet the Gods tell him he is meant to bring pictures to his tribe, so that they can always remember. The young Indian struggles to paint the one picture the Gods assigned him, the sunset. Because there are no colors on Earth to match the colors of the sunset, the Gods send him down special paintbrushes with the colors of the sunset. When the little Indian finishes his picture wi...more
I had a particular fondness for this book as a child. "The Girl who loved wild horses" has the same magic to it as this book. But, I loved Indian Paintbrushes as a child. They use to grow wild and I would pick them for my Great Aunt and Grandmother who are both gone now. The hill that use to be covered in these is now a nature preserve covered with pine trees. No more Indian Paintbrushes grow. But, I loved the classic return to the Earth quality of this book, and the image of the Paint...more
The Legend of the Indian and the Paintbrush by Tomie dePaola is a good book. The reason is because it gives students an opportunity to learn about Indian history and culture. Another good reason why it a good book to read is because who knew that the Indians were the first ones to invent a paintbrush and for this particular Indian to get a magic one fall from the sky. In the last page of the book it says that every spring that the paintbrushes that he used bloomed into beautiful plants and woul...more
This is a great story but due to it's length it is sometimes a hard book to get kindergartners through. I used this book as the introduction to a writing activity, in which students drew their own pictures or pictographs on animal skin (brown paper bag). It is a great story that can be used to compare Native Americans to children now, as well as talk about students special talents. This book is full of teaching opportunities, but would probably be more appreciated and understood with older ch...more
Genre: Traditional Fantasy
Author: Tomie dePaola
Illustrator: Tomie dePaola.
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York
Date of Publication: 1988
Summary: Discouraged that he lacks the skills to hunt like the other boys in his Indian tribe, Little Gopher finds his true talent in painting. The great spirits provide him with paint and brushes that help him find his place in the tribe as he captures the sunset on canvas. The paintbrushes turn to flowers the next day, and thus bec...more
Author: Tomie dePaola
Illustrator: Tomie dePaola.
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York
Date of Publication: 1988
Summary: Discouraged that he lacks the skills to hunt like the other boys in his Indian tribe, Little Gopher finds his true talent in painting. The great spirits provide him with paint and brushes that help him find his place in the tribe as he captures the sunset on canvas. The paintbrushes turn to flowers the next day, and thus bec...more
The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush by Tomie dePaola is tale of how a young Indian boy became a great artist & painted the deeds and visions of The People who saw & remembered them forever, and how the Indian Paintbrush flower was created. Growing up as the smallest boy in the tribe, Little Gopher reeives a dream vision, struggles to fulfill his destiny, and is rewarded for his efforts to preserve the culture of The People.
DePaola tells this legend with great respect for Native Amer...more
DePaola tells this legend with great respect for Native Amer...more
Little Gopher wasn't like the rest of the children. He couldn't run as fast as they could no matter how hard he tried.
But he still had a wonderful gift and realized this when he had a dream-vision, telling him one day he will paint a picture of the sky.
This was a quite interesting story and I liked the illustrations. I think the story shows that everyone has a wonderful gift they can share with the world.
But he still had a wonderful gift and realized this when he had a dream-vision, telling him one day he will paint a picture of the sky.
This was a quite interesting story and I liked the illustrations. I think the story shows that everyone has a wonderful gift they can share with the world.
The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush is an excellent classroom hook to get students interested in the history of the American West. Especially in the Southern U.S. many students are not aware of the scope of cultures still readily visible in the Western States, and the Legend of the Indian Paintbrush presents a historical representation of America different than most non-southwestern students have ever seen.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I really enjoyed this book a lot. Its a great story for children of all ages. I think the children would really like this book and would want to hear more about flowers after this. I really think that teachers could use this in their classroom when they are learning about this different Indians or a dream or goal can succeed in the end.
" The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush" is a wonderful book that explores the Indian culture, which may encourage children to explore this important part of history. Aside from the wonderful social studies insight in the book, it also worked as a great predictions activity. For this activity, I had children write/draw their predictions on a brown piece of card stock, which acted as their animal skin from the book. My third graders loved this activity, and gained great insight on predict...more
This is a book of the Native American culture. The main character learns that even through his talent is different then the rest of the boys in his tribe, it's still important to his people. This story can be used during a unit on Native Americans and can follow a theme of self idenity.
This is a great multicultural book from dePaola. A growing young man tries to find his place within his tribe. With the help of his ancesters he learns to use his talents to help the tribe. He tells his stories through drawings and paintings.
-Little Gopher growing up was not the most athletic. Like a folktale, Gopher becomes a famouse with a special paint brush. Very good book to read in a whole group and reflect on afterwards.
Good read for Kindergarten to 2nd grade
Good read for Kindergarten to 2nd grade
This is a story of a young boy who is trying to find his place and what he is meant to do in life. When he gets his answer he finds that he will be able to share natural beauty with the world. I recommend this book for 2nd-3rd grades.
Janelle
rated it
Recommends it for:
artists, Wyoming residents, people who love wildflowers and sunsets
The "indian paintbrush" flower inspired this folktale, retold here by one of my faves, Tomie dePaola.
There is so much that I love about this book, and am excited to share with children. The message about being true to yourself and using your gifts and talents. Seeing how the boy creates canvas and brushes and paints. Seeing the products of his work and being able to explain how art was a way of preserving culture and one way that we've learned about the people who came be...more
There is so much that I love about this book, and am excited to share with children. The message about being true to yourself and using your gifts and talents. Seeing how the boy creates canvas and brushes and paints. Seeing the products of his work and being able to explain how art was a way of preserving culture and one way that we've learned about the people who came be...more
This is another story I used with my Native Americans unit. I love Tomie dePaola and his books are always great. This one tells us how the Indian Paintbush helped Little Gopher become great among his people.
This book is a good example of how being yourself can bring you happiness. It is also a good story to read to children to teach them how the Native Americans depended on nature to survive.
This is a great story, but my favorite thing to do with this book is simply look at the pictures. Beautiful and bold, it leaves me feeling good about the day.
DePaola brings diversity to the classroom...I guess...The books look and read too much like each other.
Not being like the others, fulfilling your individual destiny, creating something beautiful.
Excellent! We especially love this book because it's about Wyoming's state flower. Fabulous!
I didn't think too much of it. I liked the illustrations, but the story was a bit blah.
Tomie dePaola writes beautiful stories and has amazing pictures to go with them.
Kayla Wilcox
added it
Recommends it for:
everyone under 10
Recommended to Kayla by:
my first grade teacher mrs kuzera
This was one of my FAVORITE childhood books. read it and see why :P
Another beautiful legend beautifully illustrating another Plains wildflower.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Tomie dePaola (pronounced Tommy da-POW-la) is best known for his books for children.
He's been published for 40 years and has written and/or illustrated over 200 books, including 26 Fairmount Avenue, Strega Nona, and Meet the Barkers.
Tomie dePaola and his work have been recognized with the Caldecott Honor Award, the Newbery Honor Award and the New Hampshire Governor's Arts Award of Livi...more
More about Tomie dePaola...
He's been published for 40 years and has written and/or illustrated over 200 books, including 26 Fairmount Avenue, Strega Nona, and Meet the Barkers.
Tomie dePaola and his work have been recognized with the Caldecott Honor Award, the Newbery Honor Award and the New Hampshire Governor's Arts Award of Livi...more
Share This Book
1 trivia question
More quizzes & trivia...

Loading...





































![Strega Nona: Un Cuento Tradicional Adaptado E Ilustrado Por Tomie de Paola; [Traduccion, Ruth de Prada Casellanos] Strega Nona: Un Cuento Tradicional Adaptado E Ilustrado Por Tomie de Paola; [Traduccion, Ruth de Prada Casellanos]](http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175988021m/581409.jpg)






