Toolmaker

by Jill Paton Walsh, Jeroo Roy (Illustrator)

For young Ra to make all the tools needed by his Stone Age tribe is a new idea for all of them, and provides Ra with a skill that saves his life when he is abandoned by his tribe for forgetting how to hunt.

47 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1973

About the author

Jill Paton Walsh was born Gillian Bliss in London on April 29th, 1937. She was educated at St. Michael's Convent, North Finchley, and at St. Anne's College, Oxford. From 1959 to 1962 she taught English at Enfield Girls' Grammar School.

Jill Paton Walsh has won the Book World Festival Award, 1970, for Fireweed; the Whitbread Prize, 1974 (for a Children's novel) for The Emperor's Winding Sheet; The Boston Globe-Horn Book Award 1976 for Unleaving; The Universe Prize, 1984 for A Parcel of Patterns; and the Smarties Grand Prix, 1984, for Gaffer Samson's Luck.

Series:
* Imogen Quy
* Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane

Reviews

[Mathew · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Ra finds within him a skill for crafting stone into forms beyond the skills of the rest of his tribe, he is torn between continuing his role as hunter/gatherer or to become something altogether unbeknown to him - a craftsman. This is an excellent piece of writing from Paton Walsh (again) which explores the life of a Stone Age young adult on the brink of a huge evolutionary change. Part of the Long Ago Children Books series, these stories for younger readers are challenging in their coverage and in their language and I love them for this. There is no simplicity here - this short story is one in which the author's knowledge of the subject is great as is her own crafting of the written word.

[Idea Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful look at life in the Stone Age. Ra is a young boy from a tribe in the era, who discovers that he has a useful talent. Walsh's book looks at how the early barter system may have come into play and what implications it would have had on the individuals and the societies. The story itself is simple and the book is easy to read, making this is a great addition to a child's library but also a worthy read for an adult interested in social history.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lengthy book to read with an older child (8 to 11), but interesting and engaging. It gives a view into primitive civilization with early stone tools, beginnings of herding and farming, as well as social interaction between tribes. The pictures are simple but stylized to look primitive. I enjoyed reading it, and especially enjoyed seeing his relationship with Dog as a practical ally and companion while alone on the plains.