Trickster and the Fainting Birds

by Howard Norman, Tom Pohrt (Illustrator)

With spare grace and lively wit, acclaimed author Howard Norman chronicles the hilarious antics of a provocative troublemaker. Whether cheating in a sleepwalking contest, teaching the shut-eye dance to ducks, or halting a wedding by transforming the groom into a kingfisher, Trickster sets the world askew. Like trickster figures the world round, this Algonquian mischief-maker prods our imagination and makes us laugh deep in our hearts. In forty-two luminescent, richly detailed paintings, Tom Pohrt follows Trickster’s trail—across frozen lakes and thawing marshes—on a journey that carries us from trouble, to laughter, and, finally, to wisdom.

Genres: Mythology

82 pages, Hardcover

First published September 20, 1999

About the author

Howard A. Norman (born 1949), is an American award-winning writer and educator. Most of his short stories and novels are set in Canada's Maritime Provinces. He has written several translations of Algonquin, Cree, Eskimo, and Inuit folklore. His books have been translated into 12 languages.

Reviews

[Tarawyn Baxter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of seven Algonquian Trickster stories. The paintings are wonderful, the stories are fun. Who doesn't love trickster god stories? The Trickster often gets what's coming to him, but not always. As Howard Norman explains in the introduction, in trickster stories there is never a dull moment, and he is a bundle of contradictions. Howard Norman described in a great deal of detail the years he spent gathering the stories and all the different versions he heard of each story before refining down to the versions here.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice collection of Trickster stories though I would have perfered it if a First Nations person had been the author.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a really cool collection of Algonquin folktales that have to do with the character "Trickster". The stories are great, and they all have some kind of lesson to teach the listener, which is an important component of folktales! However, the way that this book is written is more conducive to personal reading, or SSR (silent sustained reading) than it is for read-aloud. One of the reasons for this is that there is almost no use of pronouns; every time a character is referred to it is by their whole name. This led to some serious tongue ties and listener confusion. I would also say that the stories are not told as a "children's story" as much as it is told as if someone were speaking the story directly to the reader, which can make it hard for young children to understand.

[Genevieve Ledwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the stories in this book. 3 stars for me is 'liked this book.' It should be for middle school age and not really elementary. For one, trickster humor is usually a little more mature and you need some age to catch the nuances. Second, there may be more mature material; ex, the story where trickster lures ducks to their deaths to eat them - he's choking the ducks and tricking the others with their eyes closed into thinking it's part of the singing. That particular story I've heard as Coyote and fox.

The weasel story has a funny ending, but my 9 yr old didn't get the punchline; my 11 yr old did.