Paul Goble has received wide acclaim for his magnificent books, including Buffalo Woman, Dream Wolf, Her Seven Brothers, and the winner of the 1979 Caldecott Medal, The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses. Commenting on his work in Beyond the Ridge, Horn Book Magazine said, "striking elements synthesize the graphics with the narrative and spiritual aspects of the text." The New York Times Book Review noted that his technique is "a marriage of authentic design and contemporary artistry, and it succeeds beautifully." Paul Goble's most recent book for Bradbury Press, I Sing for the Animals, was called "a lovely, small book that movingly conveys profound belief in the goodness of creation" by Kirkus Reviews, and School Library Journal said it "fits as easily in the hand as Goble's meditations about the natural world do in the heart."
K-Gr 4-- New text, jacket, and rich reproduction of the color art mark this revised edition of The Friendly Wolf (Bradbury, 1974; o.p.). The basic story remains the same: two young Plains Indian children get lost while berry-picking, and are protected and led home by a wolf which is then honored by the children's people. Goble has made the wolf in this version less terrifying to the children in keeping with his more overt message about modern treatment of wolves by human beings. His ending assumes the wolves' absence until ``we . . . have the wolves in our hearts and dreams again.'' This mild didacticism does not add to the tale, nor, unfortunately, does the rewritten text. While some of the language has been improved, much of the story's flow is lost to a string of declaratives; it smacks of easy readerizing, and the truncation of the original is often awkward and confusing. This is particularly disappointing because the new illustrations and print layout are so much more appealing: this effort could have been a real knockout. Illustrations that were slightly murky and muddy now appear brilliant and distinct, vividly showing off Goble's trademark style--thin white space outlining the stylized figures in glorious traditional Plains Indian garb. Good ``good wolf'' stories are hard to come by, and offer a discussion-rich (not to mention politically correct) contrast to the abundance of good ``bad wolf'' tales out there; this will be a useful addition to the former, but it is not something worth howling about. -- Nancy Palmer, The Little School, Bellevue, WA
In this Plains Indian tale, Young Tiblo and his little sister Tanksi lose their way in the hills and, as darkness falls, they find refuge in a cave. That night Tiblo dreams that a wolf appears to watch over them. When he awakens, the dream comes true, and the wolf guides the two children home. Goble's straightforward text evokes rich emotions: showing how and why Plains Indians revered the wolf, the story becomes a heartfelt plea for the preservation of wild wolves. Dream Wolf is filled with glowing imagery--the illustrations showing nightfall, the children's search for shelter and the wolf's first, dreamlike appearance are particularly riveting. Once again, Goble has captured the lives and legends of this tribe in a magnificent picture book. All ages. (Feb.)
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