The Star-Bearer : A Creation Myth from Ancient Egypt

by Dianne Hofmeyr

In the beginning, nothing moves in the inky silence...until the golden godchild Atum gradually unfolds from a lotus bud. From him come the gods of the air and rain and their children - Geb, god of Earth, and Nut, goddess of the sky. Geb and Nut are inseparable. They clasp one another and share whispered secrets, leaving no space between the sky and the earth for Atum to continue creating. So Atum has no choice but to have them forcibly separated, leaving Geb enraged and Nut sad and lonely...The beautiful story that follows explains, according to Ancient Egyptian beliefs, how day, night and the starry universe were first created.

Genres: Picture Books, Mythology, Egypt, Fiction, Cultural, Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2001

Reviews

[Meleah Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book; however it was difficult to comprehend. It would be a good book to use in the classroom to introduce Myths.

[Mrs. Ruigrok · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting version of creation from Egypt. Nicely done!

[Sarah Gross]

Title: The Star-Bearer: A Creation Myth from Ancient Egypt
Author: Dianne Hofmeyr
Illustrator: Jude Daly
Genre: Myth
Theme(s): creation
Opening line/sentence: “In the beginning, there was nothing but darkness and water that lay cold and still as black marble.”
Brief Book Summary: In this mythical book of creation from Ancient Egypt, the beginning of time is explained, starting with the creator, Atum. The book explains how he makes the god of air and the god of wind, who eventually had two children, the god of the earth and the goddess of the sky. It goes on to explain how the children were separated and the significance of the stars, the moon, and the sun in the sky. Atum eventually dies, and asks that Osiris, Nut’s child, takes over the thrown while he retires to the heavens.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Publishers Weekly
Hofmeyr and Daly, previously partnered for The Stone: A Persian Legend of the Magi, again join forces to weave a colorful picture book from one of the world's oldest storytelling traditions. Key figures in Egyptian mythology spring to life in Hofmeyr's vivid narration: the bud of a lotus flower breaks through the surface of water, and, "as the petals slowly unfurled, they spread a blue luster in the darkness. Enclosed in the center of the bloom was the golden godchild Atum." Atum, the creator, brings forth Shu, the god of air, and Tefnut, the goddess of dew and rain, who are the tempestuous parents of stubborn and inseparable children Geb, the god of the earth, and Nut, the goddess of the sky. When Geb and Nut's carrying on halts Atum's creation of the rest of the world ("If you stay so close to each other, there will be no room for tall trees and rugged mountains, for rivers and waterfalls..."), Atum must assert his authority to divide the siblings into the earth and sky we recognize today. Daly's stylized, willowy figures shine against elegant backgrounds of rich, jewel-like blues and greens, bathed in sun-, moon- or starlight. The paintings go far in visually bridging slight gaps in Hofmeyr's narrative. Even with such gaps, the author's lustrous imagery and poetic tone give this ancient story a fresh feel with much appeal. Ages 4-up. (Mar.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
Children’s Literature
In mystical language appropriate to a creation myth thousands of years old, Hofmeyr relates the emergence of the godchild Atum from a lotus in dark water, and his subsequent creation of the god of air and goddess of dew and rain. From them come their children, earth and sky, then after their forced separation, earth and all upon it. Thoth, god of all wisdom, then makes possible the birth of the other Egyptian gods. The tale ends with the ascension of Atum to the heavens and a lyrical tribute to the moods of Nut, goddess of night, quite different from the usual myths. Daly's rather stylized painted images suggest some of those found on ancient Egyptian scrolls and wall paintings, as introduced on the jacket/cover. The visual legend unfolds in various size rectangular scenes set on white pages with the brief, almost caption-like text. Symbolism dominates the swirling arabesques of air, the broken blue lines arching across the sky as rain. The night goddess's body stretches across the earth in her various guises. The mysticism of this world, not well-known in traditional picture books, can only be hinted at here. There is a note about sources and a pronunciation key. 2001, Farrar Straus Giroux, $16.00. Ages 5 to 9. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz
Response to Two Professional Reviews: I agree with both of these reviews, again, that the illustrations in the book add so much detail to the story. The author still uses so much imagery in his word choice, but the pictures add to that even more. I like that both reviews speak of how Egyptian mythology is the background of the book, but it seems that the author has taken it a step further and put his own spin on the story.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: This book shows great detail in the pictures that correspond directly to the words. On some pages the pictures stretch the entire length of the page, and on other pages, 4 or more pictures fill the page. The plot and language is easy to understand and the story is easy to follow.
Consideration of Instructional Application: This book could be used in an older elementary classroom (Grades 3-4) as a silent reading book. Children could use this book when working with plot, and they could be assigned an activity of order of events. Students would read the book individually and then discuss with a classmate which event happened first, which happened second, and so on.

[Allison Weiler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Title: The Star-Bearer: A Creation Myth from Ancient Egypt
Author: Dianne Hofmeyr
Illustrator: Jude Daly
Genre: Myth
Theme(s): Creation, Egyptian Mythology
Opening line/sentence: In the beginning, there was nothing but darkness and water that lay cold and still as black marble. Nothing moved in the inky silence.
Brief Book Summary: In the beginning there was nothing, until Atum created the universe. He created the sky and the earth, his children. But with them so close together, there was no room for creation in between.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: Ilene Cooper (Booklist, Feb. 15, 2001 (Vol. 97, No. 12)) This picture book for older readers captures the magic and mystery of an early Egyptian creation myth in both its evocative language and innovative art. In the beginning, there is only darkness. Then the golden godchild Atum appears in a lotus bud. From Atum comes Tefnut, the goddess of rain and dew, and Shu, the god of air. Delightful panels in all shades of blue show Tefnut and Shu teasing one another other with wind and water; their tempestuous relationship results in the birth of Geb, the Earth god, and Nut, goddess of the sky. Quieter than their parents, Geb and Nut cling together and whisper in each other's ears, but their kinship evokes hostility from Atum the creator, who vows to separate them. Up to this point, the story is told with a leisurely economy. The tale of Geb and Nut's great love and eventual separation is more dramatic, especially in the art where Geb, the Earth, strains upward to meet a starry Nut, who arches over her love in a subtly erotic way. Daley's characters look as if they've stepped from hieroglyphics, but the art isn't static in any way: it has a sort of wildness that reflects the passion of a story that has endured for more than 5,000 years.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz (Children’s Literature) In mystical language appropriate to a creation myth thousands of years old, Hofmeyr relates the emergence of the godchild Atum from a lotus in dark water, and his subsequent creation of the god of air and goddess of dew and rain. From them come their children, earth and sky, then after their forced separation, earth and all upon it. Thoth, god of all wisdom, then makes possible the birth of the other Egyptian gods. The tale ends with the ascension of Atum to the heavens and a lyrical tribute to the moods of Nut, goddess of night, quite different from the usual myths. Daly's rather stylized painted images suggest some of those found on ancient Egyptian scrolls and wall paintings, as introduced on the jacket/cover. The visual legend unfolds in various size rectangular scenes set on white pages with the brief, almost caption-like text. Symbolism dominates--the swirling arabesques of air, the broken blue lines arching across the sky as rain. The night goddess's body stretches across the earth in her various guises. The mysticism of this world, not well-known in traditional picture books, can only be hinted at here.
Response to Two Professional Reviews: Both professional reviews tell of the wonderful Egyptian Creation myth by Dianne Hofmeyr. The professional reviewers praise the visual aspect, and symbolism implemented in the text. The professionals agree that these aspects make this an excellent read for emergent readers.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The illustrations created by Jude Daly capture everything one would assume for a story of creation. These illustrations incorporate ancient and modern times, and all colors are that of nature: greens, blues, browns, and whites. The text is under the illustrations for easy reading by emergent readers.
Consideration of Instructional Application: This book could be a great introduction to a Science lesson about space. Children could create a map of the stars, naming the famous constellations. They could then be able to find them in their every day life.

[Hongxi Mao]

The book The Star-Bearer: A Creation Myth from Ancient Egypt is a great book for children to read. This book is considered to be a traditional literature that tells a myth story. The main character from this story is Atum, Geb, and Nut. It is in the third person point of view, and the setting is on earth. In the beginning, the earth is dark and nothing is alive there, then when Atum comes, he starts to create rain, and wind. Then, the wind and rain had two children, one is Geb, the god of the earth, and the other child is Nut, the goddess of the sky. Atum is not happy that Geb and Nut are always together, so he created other things to separate them and punished Nut. At the end, Atum got tired and he gives the throne to Nut’s son.
This is a good book for children to read because it has very nice picture illustration and the author tells this mythological story in a very interesting way. I believe that the child will like to know what is happening next so it can grab their interest. When I was little, I used to love reading myths because I like to use my imagination and believe that they are true because the stories make sense. Children might be curious of how things happen and where some things come from, so reading myths is a way to help with their understanding of the world. Teachers should know about this book because younger students tend like asking questions, and some of the questions can make teachers speechless. So if the teachers have the book, they can read it to the students in a playful way, so the student’s question can be answered. That is why reading mythological stories can be helpful for both children and teachers.

[M.cholewick · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Star-Bearer: A Creation Myth from Ancient Egypt is a creation myth written by Dianne Hofmeyr and Jude Daly. In short, this creation myth comes from the Heliopolis creation myth of Ancient Egypt. A key feature of this book is the pronunciation guide at the beginning. This is a much-needed feature given that the characters of the book have names that young students, as well as adults may have difficulty pronouncing. Although the pronunciation guide is a good tool to have when reading the book, I think that having the pronunciation within the story would be better for younger readers. I, myself, as an adult, had to flip back to the beginning to recall the correct pronunciation of the characters. Given this, I would recommend this book for a more experienced reader, perhaps late middle school. Additionally, a lot of the vocabulary was very high for a children's book. For example, descriptions and the use of adjectives such as "unrestrained, unpredictable, tempestuous, summoned, spewed,” etc. There would need to be a great deal of guided reading with this text if it were to be used with children. To an extent, this book is doable with younger children, but with a very structured implementation. The book does do a great job of providing a strong text to picture representation. For example, the illustrations and the colors used do a great of representing the key characters and actions told in the story. Although the text is complex, the illustrations provide a lot of opportunity for students to visually contextualize the course of the story.

[Jacob]

The Star Bearer: a Creation Myth from Ancient Egypt (2001). Written by Dianne Hofmeyr. Illustrated by Jude Daly. This five-thousand-year-old Ancient Egyptian creation myth begins by describing how "there was nothing but darkness and water that lay cold and still as black marble...after countless ages, a ripple formed beneath the black water and the bud of a lotus flower pushed upward." The godchild "Atum" rises from out of the lotus flower and begins the creation process. Atum, also known as the "creator," populates the planet with gods and goddesses who represent components such as rain, air, sky, and earth. Jude Daly illustrates this creation process by utilizing simple colors (blue, green, brown, etc.). The Star-Bearer is a perfect fit for a read-aloud as narrators can add sound effects to supplement the story. At times, the author uses high vocabulary (e.g. blustery, tempestuous) that young readers may have some difficulty with. To help assist the young reader with unfamiliar Egyptian gods and goddesses, the author provides a brief pronunciation guide in the beginning of the book. While some of the text may seem too complex for young readers, the illustrations provide a solid base for the narrative. Target audience: ages 6-10.

[Tom Bochnak · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does a great job of using descriptive words to paint a picture. The other creation myths were very basic, and good for the youngest readers. This book uses more words that will require a lot of vocabulary lessons, which is ok. Creation myths can be challenging to read, right?

Because of the descriptive words and images, there's actually a lot of emotion in this book, which is rare for a creation myth. There's loss and longing for example. In the end though, all is well because we now have the earth and the sky.

I'd definitely use this book to harness some kids' passion about Egyptian mythology. It's a necessary read to understand the origins of all those myths.

[CanadianReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful book with lovely images. Hofmeyr makes an early creation story accessible to the young. Unlike in Greek myths, however, the Egyptian gods have few distinguishing personality traits. While I understand the author's desire to stay true to her sources, I rather wish the gods could have been given some distinctive traits--just to increase narrative interest.

[Sarah Ahmed · Rating 4 out of 5]

i used to work in my university's library and was temporarily located in the children lit section. this was one of the books i was checking in and all i can say is, "thank you human who borrowed it". the art in this left me in awe.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations by Jude Daly illustrate a poetic Egyptian creation myth. The book would make a great read aloud introduction to a study of Egypt, orienting students with one of the culture's foundational stories. A source note provides context.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely book.

[Jenni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Swedish title: När Aton skilde himmel och jord

[Dotty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the illustrations. Mix of various Egyptian myths and gods.

[Sonic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating Egyptian creation Myth told for all ages with exquisite illustration.

Simple
yet strange and
Gorgeous.

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: The Star Bearer: A Creation Myth from Ancient Egypt
Author: Dianne Hofmeyer
Illustrator: Jude Daly
Genre: Myth
Theme(s): Mythology, Egyptian, Creation

Opening line/sentence: “In the beginning, there was nothing but darkness and water that lay cold and still as black marble.”

Brief Book Summary:
A great choice for older readers, this book tells the story of how the world came to be from darkness and light to what we know now. The early Egyptian myth tells the story of the creator Atum and the Gods and Goddesses that follow him in the creation of the earth, highlighting the love story of Geb and Nut and the separation that makes the earth and sky.

Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Ilene Cooper (Booklist, Feb. 15, 2001 (Vol. 97, No. 12) )
This picture book for older readers captures the magic and mystery of an early Egyptian creation myth in both its evocative language and innovative art. In the beginning, there is only darkness. Then the golden godchild Atum appears in a lotus bud. From Atum comes Tefnut, the goddess of rain and dew, and Shu, the god of air. Delightful panels in all shades of blue show Tefnut and Shu teasing one another other with wind and water; their tempestuous relationship results in the birth of Geb, the Earth god, and Nut, goddess of the sky. Quieter than their parents, Geb and Nut cling together and whisper in each other's ears, but their kinship evokes hostility from Atum the creator, who vows to separate them. Up to this point, the story is told with a leisurely economy. The tale of Geb and Nut's great love and eventual separation is more dramatic, especially in the art where Geb, the Earth, strains upward to meet a starry Nut, who arches over her love in a subtly erotic way. Daley's characters look as if they've stepped from hieroglyphics, but the art isn't static in any way: it has a sort of wildness that reflects the passion of a story that has endured for more than 5,000 years.

Professional Recommendation/Review #2:

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, January 15, 2001 (Vol. 69, No. 2))
Using an ancient Egyptian creation myth from Heliopolis, and inspired by, but not bound to, Egyptian motifs, Hofmeyr and Daly offer a lovely "pourquoi" for the universe. In the beginning darkness, a lotus flower opened and Atum cast light into the world from its heart. Soon he blew across his hands and made Shu, the god of air, and Tefnut, the goddess of rain. These two teased and played, and their children were Geb, the god of earth, and Nut, the goddess of sky. Atum grew angry at Geb and Nut's closeness, and finally Shu had to keep them apart. Geb's struggle made hills and volcanoes and Tefnut's tears the plants; Nut was lifted high in an arch over Geb and Atum sprinkled her with stars so Geb could see her in the darkness. The children of Nut became the gods Osiris and others, and Atum retired to the sun, guided by Nut each day. The illustrations use line with great elegance, as Geb's body metamorphoses into hills and hillocks. Nut the sky turns from milky moonstone to deep lapis, and myriad blues and sweet greens set off the figures, for whom Egyptian conventions of hair, adornment, and skin tones are used. The language is complex enough so that this is best used as a read-aloud, and may go nicely with Tamara Bower's "The Shipwrecked Sailor", another Egyptian story that speaks across millennia.

Response to Two Professional Reviews:
In response to both professional reviews, this Egyptian creation myth is elegant, sophisticated and beautiful. Just as the second states, the book is a lovely pour quoi style myth of how the earth came to be. The language is evocative and the illustrations elegant, as they both work together to create a poetic and moving story. The characters and plot are dynamic, just as much as the illustrations and text are too. This book would be best for older readers doing a study on Ancient Egypt or as a read aloud.

Evaluation of Literary Elements:
Occurring in the remote past of Ancient Egypt, this creation myth has been accepted on faith and is sacredly associated with Ancient Egyptian beliefs and gods. The myth of how the world came to be, has been written in poetic and descriptive text that would be appropriate for upper elementary readers. The language is complex, yet the illustrations are simple. The painted pieces within the text show exquisite use of line to make the reader feel movement and emotion. Both the illustrations and the text work together to make the myth if not believable, then realistic and dynamic.

Consideration of Instructional Application:
For older elementary students, this text could lead to the opportunity to study myths and how they came to be. In turn, students can create their own creation myths and stories about how the world came to be. This would be an instructional application that allowed for understanding of history and culture with an added component of creative writing, storytelling, and illustrating.