C.J. Taylor,
All the Stars in the Sky: Native Stories from the Heavens
Tundra Books, 2006.

Ages 8 +

In her extensive career as a children’s author, renowned Mohawk artist C.J. Taylor has brought the rich mythology of North American first nations to the attention of readers everywhere with such books as Bones in the Basket, Peace Walker, and How We Saw the World.  With All the Stars in the Sky, she brings us legends from the Salish of Coeur d’Alene Idaho, the Onondaga of central New York state and southern Ontario, the Blackfoot of present day Alberta and Montana, the Netsilik (Inuit) of the far north, the Wasco of the Western Rocky Mountains, the Ojibwa of the plains west of the Great Lakes, and the Cherokee from the southeastern United States. 

Many of the stories are about the origins of constellations familiar to all and, somewhat surprisingly, recognized as similar symbols across many cultures.  For the Salish, the constellation known to ancient Greeks as Cygnus, the Swan, is the Great Snow Goose.  The cluster of stars known to most Westerners as the Pleiades is known to the Onondaga as oot-kwa-tah and represents dancing children. The Wasco believe it was the trickster Coyote who put the Big Dipper in the sky.  Other stories are about the creation of the world and celestial-terrestrial interactions between sky people, such as the Sun, Moon and Stars, and earth-bound humans who are curious about them.

Children and adults will recognize mythological archetypes familiar to them from other mythologies such as Old Man, three brothers, hunters, warriors, and shamans. Native North American legends are also noted for their animal archetypes such as the trickster, Coyote, and Spider Grandmother who brings gifts and knowledge to people across first nations.

The stories, which are all about three to four pages in length, are beautifully illustrated and full of imagination.  They are sure to ignite the minds and curiosity of early readers by offering the richness and creativity of legends in just a few pages.  The use of story to explain natural phenomena may even excite an interest in science and anthropology and will surely offer children a new perspective on the nature and the sky that surrounds us all.

Abigail Sawyer
April 2010