The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush
The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush
Select a format:
Perma-Bound Edition ©1988--
Paperback ©1988--
To purchase this item, you must first login or register for a new account.
G. P. Putnam's Sons
Just the Series: Sandcastle   

Series and Publisher: Sandcastle   

Annotation: Little Gopher follows his destiny, as revealed in a Dream-Vision, of becoming an artist for his people and eventually is able to bring the colors of the sunset down to the earth.
Genre: [Fairy tales]
 
Reviews: 4
Catalog Number: #175247
Format: Perma-Bound Edition
Common Core/STEAM: Common Core Common Core
Copyright Date: 1988
Edition Date: 1996 Release Date: 04/16/96
Pages: 1 volume (unpaged)
ISBN: Publisher: 0-698-11360-8 Perma-Bound: 0-8000-9336-4
ISBN 13: Publisher: 978-0-698-11360-2 Perma-Bound: 978-0-8000-9336-5
Dewey: 398.2
LCCN: 87020160
Dimensions: 26 cm.
Language: English
Reviews:
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

In this companion to The Legend of the Bluebonnet, Little Gopher is smaller than the rest of the children in his tribe and can't keep up with those who ride, run, wrestle or shoot with bows and arrows. But, he has a talent of his ownhe is an artist. When he grows older, a Dream-Vision comes to him: a young Indian maiden and her grandfather tell him that he will paint pictures of the great warriors with colors as pure as the evening sky. Little Gopher's paintings never satisfy him because the colors are dull and dark, but he keeps trying. In the night, a voice tells him how to find paint-filled brushes; Little Gopher locates them, and they become brilliantly colored flowers known as Indian Paintbrush. This tale is related with deceptive simplicity by dePaola; he enhances the plainness of the story with his primitive illustrations, and, like Little Gopher, he finds inspiration in the colors of the sunset. Ages 2-7. (May)

School Library Journal

K-Gr 4 Little Gopher was smaller than the other young Indian boys of his Plains tribe, and although he tried hard, he could not do what the others did. The tribe's wise shaman assures him, however, that he has a different gift. As he grows up it is revealed to him in a vision that he will paint pictures of the glories of his tribe, that his own greatest work will someday be ``a picture that is as pure as the colors in the evening sky.'' As he grows older he does indeed paint the great deeds, the hunts, the visions of his tribe. But making paints to match the colors of the evening sky eludes him. One night, a voice directs him to a special vantage point where he finds brushes filled with wonderful colors. He creates at last his masterwork, and the next day the brushes have rooted and become the brilliant flowers we now call Indian Paintbrush. This book will inevitably be compared with The Legend of the Bluebonnet (Putnam, 1983), but the pivotal elements are very different. The humanity expressed in this story illustrates the value of perseverance, and of endurance of effort that will bring its reward. DePaola's softly rounded shapes and his hero's diminutive stature, downcast eyes, and sober mien breathe attitudes of acceptance, of quiet waiting, of diligent persistence. The picture of the boy gazing mutely, patiently, into the western sky is ineffably moving. And dePaola must have had a wonderful time painting the gloriously uplifting skies depicted here. Ruth Semrau, Lovejoy School, McKinney, Tex.

Reviewing Agencies: - Find Other Reviewed Titles
National Council For Social Studies Notable Children's Trade
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)
School Library Journal
Wilson's Children's Catalog
Word Count: 904
Reading Level: 4.4
Interest Level: K-3
Accelerated Reader: reading level: 4.4 / points: 0.5 / quiz: 5521 / grade: Lower Grades
Reading Counts!: reading level:2.8 / points:2.0 / quiz:Q06729
Lexile: AD840L
Guided Reading Level: O
Fountas & Pinnell: O

In spring, the hills and meadows of Texas and Wyoming are ablaze with the reds, oranges, and yellows of the Indian Paintbrush. How this striking plant received its name is told in an old Indian legend.Many years ago, when the People traveled the Plains, a young Indian boy had a Dream-Vision in which it was revealed that one day he would create a painting that was as pure as the colors of the evening sky at sunset. The boy grew up to become the painter of the tribe, but although he found a pure white buckskin for a canvas and made paints from the brightest flowers and the reddest berries, he could not capture the sunset.
How the young Indian artist finally fulfills his Dream-Vision is lovingly told and illustrated by Tomie dePaola, in words and pictures that capture the spirit and beauty of this dramatic legend.


*Prices subject to change without notice and listed in US dollars.
Perma-Bound bindings are unconditionally guaranteed (excludes textbook rebinding).
Paperbacks are not guaranteed.
Please Note: All Digital Material Sales Final.