Children's Literature

Annotated Book Card Student's Name: Maranda Kapell Card No.: 5 Title: The Mud Pony Author: Retold by Caron Lee Cohen Illustrator: Shonto Begay Publisher: Scholastic INC Copyright: 1988 Approximate Age Level: K-5 Genre: Traditional Literature Setting: The Plains Plot summary with introduction of main characters: A young boy envies the other boys that have ponies in his tribe. He longs for one so he decides to make one out of clay. He treats it like a real pony and one day he is left by his tribe. He cries himself to sleep and in his dream his pony comes alive. When he awakes he realizes the pony is real and its Mother Earth. He learns he must trust Mother Earth in order to find his people. After a long journey of finding his people and fighting a victorious battle, he catches more buffalo than any other man in his tribe. By trusting Mother Earth, the boy grows stronger and braver and becomes the Chief of his tribe. When he no longer needs the pony, the pony returns to clay but he still has his connection to Mother Earth. Additional features (choose any that apply):
Multicultural, international, strong female character, good role model, written from more than one point of view, literary qualities (such as figurative language, good beginning, good use of dialogue, excellent description), other (explain).

The book is a Native American legend showing how the Native Americans respect and value Mother Earth. The illustrations of pastel water color with swirls and specks of white give the book a fantasy feel, helping the reader understand that the legend could not have really happened. Reaction to or opinion of the book:

This legend is a good story to introduce differences in cultural values. I thought the use of fantasy helped entertain the reader as the theme of respecting mother earth, and of growing up unfolded. Students need to be exposed to different cultures and this book is a great way to share diversity. Beyond children's enjoyment, is there another way this book could be used? Explain. This book could be used in a Native American unit to show how the Native Americans worship and respect the earth. Students could model a pony from clay and then write their own legend.