The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses by Paul Goble

Bibliographic Information:

Goble, Paul. The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1978.

Plot Description: A young Native American girl loves wild horses so much she spends as much of her time with them as she can.  Once day as she is napping in the sun and they grazing among the flowers, a powerful storm comes along.  At once the girl and the horses must run off together for safety and soon find themselves lost. A beautiful stallion joins them and asks her to live with horses forever, which she agrees to happily.  She is gone a long time when her people finally rescue her, but it doesn’t take them long to realize how sad she is to have left the horses.  Finally they all agree she should return, and soon she transforms into a beautiful mare.

Quantitative Reading Level: Lexile 670; GL 4.7

Qualitative Reading Analysis: This fable has a simple text structure and language for young readers, with only a few complex sentences.  It is beautifully illustrated with paintings that support interpretation of the events in the story.  Like most legends this story has a magical quality, as the horses talk to her and eventually she transforms into one herself.  Overall this is a very accessible read with only a few cultural references.

Content Area: English Language Arts

Content Area Standard(s):

CCSS for Reading Literature, Grades 2-3: 2) Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text; 3) Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.

Curriculum Suggestions:  This is a delightful read-aloud for a second or third grade class exploring folktales from other cultures and Native American culture in particular.  I’d also recommend it to a young reader that enjoys beautiful artwork.

Supporting Digital Content: Short documentary about the author https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqccBTULCno

Award(s): Caldecott Medal, 1979.

Storm Boy by Paul Owen Lewis

Bibliographic Information:

Lewis, Paul Owen. Storm Boy. Hillsboro: Beyond Words Publishing Inc, 1995.

Plot Description: A young boy on a fishing trip is swept away from his village by a vicious storm.  He awakens to find he is in new village of the killer whale people, who welcome him and invite him to eat and participate in a celebration.  He is grateful for the hospitality but soon finds himself wishing to return home.  The chief of the whale people offers to help and instructs him to hold a special object and wish deeply – soon after which he finds himself transported home, where a year has gone by.

Quantitative Reading Level: Lexile n/a; RL 3.8

Qualitative Reading Analysis: As a modern retelling of an old Haida folktale, the story is moderately complex with simple organization but not easily predictable.  The artwork is especially beautiful and conveys deeper layers meaning of the text, which raises the complexity (the author himself describes the verbal content as sparse, and “the bulk of the culturally significant detail is communicated by the art”).  Language is very familiar and conversational in nature, and sentence structure is simple.  The meaning and knowledge demands are significantly more complex because this story alludes to the Hero’s Adventure which is common to all the world’s mythologies.  The Author’s Note at the end of the story offers further insight and elaboration into the Northwest Coastal Native motifs present in the book.

Content Area: English Language Arts, Reading Literature

Content Area Standard(s):

CCSS for Reading Literature, Grade 3: 2) Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text; 7) Explain how specific aspects of a text’s illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting).

Curriculum Suggestions:  Students studying Pacific Northwest Coastal Native American culture will benefit from reading and studying the artwork, possible as it relates to totem poles and their cultural significance.

Supporting Digital Content: Read-Aloud dramatization – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE4b7VINwic

Awards: 1996 Washington State Governor’s Award, 1996 American Book Award