Owl Eyes

by Frieda Gates, Yoshi Miyake (Illustrator)

A beautifully illustrated retelling of a traditional Kanienke-haka (Mohawk) creation legend recounts how Raweno, the Master of all Spirits and Everything-Maker, fashioned the world and his many problems with Owl.

Genres: Picture Books

1 pages, Hardcover

Published September 1, 1994

Reviews

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an interesting Native American folktale about how the world and animals were created. The main character is an Indian that creates the trees, streams, sky, and mountains, but his world is too quiet, so he creates the animals. He molds them out of the earth and later colors them the way they want. Well the rest of the story explains how the owl received his features. This would be a wonderful book to describe Indian folktales to students and have them write a folktale of their own.

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Owl irritates the creator as he makes the animals of the forest.

I'd like to quote the author's note:
"The Mowhawk people's own name for themselves is Kanienkehaka (kah-ni-HAH-kah), which means People of the Place of Flint. "Mohawk" comes from the Algonquian word, "Mohowaug." The Algonquins and the Mohawks were great enemies, and the term means "eaters of human flesh."

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting story of how not to bother your creator, or you may not become as you so desire.