Her Seven Brothers, by Paul Goble

Bibliographic Data
Goble, Paul. 1988. Her Seven Brothers. New York: Bradbury Press. ISBN 0-02-737960-4Plot

Summary
A girl who excels at needlework has vision of seven brothers. She creates a fine wardrobe for each of them, and leaves her family to become their sister. They happily accept her, and when their new family is threatened, they protect her by running away to the skies. This is the Cheyenne story of how the Big Dipper came into being.

Critical Analysis
Goble’s retelling of the Cheyenne story is calm, straightforward, and respectful. He does not embellish the tale or try to modernize it in any way. His illustrations, on the other hand, are detailed and rich in color.
This story will be a departure for students who are used to the excitement or lush drawings of newer stories, but is excellent for introducing Native American folklore.

Review
From Publishers Weekly:
“This is a spry telling, dignified but lively. Thickly applied watercolors give the pictures intense hues, and an earthy but bright palette is set off with sky tones: slate blue mingles with sage green, brick orange and rich brown.“ -- Copyright 1988 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal:
“Goble's adaptation is distinguished by its restraint; he resists the temptation to dramatize the tale, choosing instead the quiet, matter-of-fact voice of the traditional Indian storyteller. The illustrations, by contrast, are boldly graphic, with dynamic patterns, brilliant color, and strong line dramatically imposed on the white of the page. While the elements are all from the natural world, Goble stylizes and idealizes them, creating fields of texture, merging from realistic foliage and animals to abstract, flattened shapes. Like the story, the characters are never particularized. Goble keeps the human characters at a distance and flattens their faces, removing all individuality. At the same time he lingers over the design of the clothing and the painted tipis. Once again Goble's admiration for the Plains Indians has been combined with his considerable gifts as a painter to produce a seamless whole.” -- Eleanor K. MacDonald, Palos Verdes Library District, Calif. ; Copyright 1988 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


Connections
This book would be a good read-aloud during a unit on Native Americans, but would also work well on a unit discussing stars and the explanations different cultures give for their presence.
On a piece of black construction paper, the teacher can randomly stick several metallic stars. Student can connect the stars with a white crayon, and then create their own legend about the constellation.

*****

Reviews found at the Carrollton Public Library website, http://cityofcarrollton.com/library/