Iktomi and the Buzzard: A Plains Indian Story

Iktomi

by Paul Goble

Iktomi the trickster tries to fool a buzzard into carrying him across the river on the buzzard's back. Asides printed in italics may be used by the storyteller to encourage listeners to make their own remarks about the action, as in traditional Iktomi storytelling.

Genres: Picture Books, 2nd Grade, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Paul Goble was an award winning author and illustrator of children's books. He has won both the Caldecott Medal and The Library of Congress' Children's Book of the Year Award.
He gave his entire collection of original illustrations to the South Dakota Art Museum in Brookings, South Dakota.
Goble, a native of England, studied at the Central School of Art in London. He became a United States citizen in 1984. Goble's life-long fascination with Native Americans of the plains began during his childhood when he became intrigued with their spirituality and culture.
His illustrations accurately depict Native American clothing, customs and surroundings in brilliant color and detail. Goble researched ancient stories and retold them for his young audiences in a manner sympathetic to Native American ways.
Goble lived with his wife in Rapid City, SD.

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Openlibrary... reading because I'm on a turkey vulture/ buzzard kick.

The "also by" page includes note from Iktomi criticizing Goble as "That white guy [who] is stealing my stories and making money off them. This book is ethnically insensitive..."
Hmm.
Then there's a page of references (in very fine print) and a couple of notes. Iktomi is a spider trickster in the Lakota culture.
Hmm.
And there's a taped-in note on scratch paper "GON 2 THE POWWOW __ KEY IS UNDER THE MAT"
Hmm. Is that printed in the original? A reader trying to give the next reader something to think about? Or for reals? I *believe* original, because the book's 'hook' is that Iktomi provides commentary & marginalia, and it does open with him going to the powwow. But yeah, why is 'gone' misspelled, and why are the Ns written backwards?

Art is appealing as always.
Iktomi's comments are amusing. But there are comments from the author, too. Plus the narration itself, so it's kind of confusing. And the ending is kinda abrupt & random.

Maybe those of you who love trickster tales will be interested. But everything about this seemed 'off' to me. And it didn't enlighten me about buzzards, either.

[David Smither · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting book telling a Lakota myth about their trickster god (who inserts his own thoughts into the story). The author also makes comments and asks rhetorical questions as he tells the story, making the book a bit confusing the first time it's read. Good for grades 3-5.
Unique feature: Iktomi, the trickster god, is portrayed as if he had a chance to make some edits before the book was published.
Genre: Traditional Literature (Real genre: Mythology/Native American Legends)

[Abigail Werner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Iktomi stories are the myths of the Native Americans. Just like how in the Greek and Roman myths there are tricksters and talking animals, the same goes for this troublemaker, Iktomi. I would recommend these funny picture books for children to read or listen to.