Picture Book 14: Raven: A Trickster tale from the Pacific Northwest

Author: Gerald McDermott

Illustrator: noneGerald McDermott

Genre: Traditional Literature

Themes: cunning, mischief making, magic

Characters:

~Primary: Raven

~Secondary: Sky Chief, Sky Chief's daughter

Awards: 
~Caldecott Honor

Date of Publication: 1993

Publishing Company: Harcourt

Summary: Raven is a trickster who is always causing mischief.  When he sees that mankind is in darkness, however, he decides to go searching for light.  When he finds light emanating from the house of the Sky Chief, Raven transforms himself so that he is swallowed by the Sky Chief's daughter.  Raven then becomes a baby boy, and waits for his chance to steal the light, which is coming from the sun, and share it with all man kind.

Recommendation: As an origin myth, this story would be great to compare to other stories from around the world.  Students can see similarities and differences between myths from each culture they study.  For example, the focus on light in this story is similar to the focus on light in Judeo-Christian scriptures.