I’ve read a lot of Paul Goble books through the years, and to be honest, as much as I love the stories, it’s the pictures I love the most. The simplistic yet vibrant illustrations are stunning and very memorable. These are books that are truly ageless. I’ve seen kids too young to read page through them for an hour, completely absorbed in the pictures. Grade school age children simply enjoy the stories, and then older readers including adults can enjoy both of those, but also learn a great deal about the culture that created the tales. The Man Who Dreamed of Elk Dogs is no different in that regard.
What is different with this book is that instead of one short story, Man Who Dreamed of Elk Dogs is actually a collection of folk tales. Mr. Goble does a great job introducing each tale with facts about the tribe it originated from and about the place of the story in their culture, but mostly he lets the stories speak for themselves. Many are very short, but they are all fascinating glimpses into lore and legends. These tales would be an amazing place to start a child’s education about Native cultures. Each story can be compared both to other cultures and to the modern day, but the collection also provides the opportunity to discuss differences between various tribes.
My thanks to Independent Book Publishers Association for providing me with a copy of The Man Who Dreamed of Elk Dogs via NetGalley, in return for my honest opinion of the book.