The Warrior Maiden, a Hopi Legend (Bank Street Ready to Read)

by Ellen Schecter

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0840399022
• ISBN13: 9780840399021
• Release Date: January 1992
• Publisher: Bantam Books
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Captivating story of a young Hopi maiden

It has been my experience that this book appeals to both boys and girls. The story line is exciting & the illustrations are crisp and colorful and create an almost tangible mood. The kids feel like they are in the middle of the desert with Huhyayi. We found this book at a library while spending a summer in Wyoming. The kids picked it out and kept renewing it. After we left they begged me to purchase a copy for them. It was a little hard to find, but worth the search because this is a book that they read often and of their own volition. While the story is captivating, it is also educational. The children learned so much about the Hopi culture without being "taught". Here is a list of all they learned from the text and the beautiful and historically correct illustrations: -The Hopi lived in pueblos & how the pueblos were structured -Ladders were used to enter and exit the pueblos -The ladders were pulled back into the house for safety as soon someone departed -Hopi means peace. The Hopi were not a warring tribe. They were farmers -They grew corn, beans, cotton and squash -The dance the boys preformed to keep the birds away while the men planted -How the girls styled their hair This is a "must-have" in your Native American collection. Note: Dr Frederick Dockstader former Director of The Museum of the American Indian told this story to the author.

Interesting Reader: This One Tells a Hopi legend - a review of "The Warrior Maiden"

Interested in a more educational reader, this might be a good one to check out. It's about a Hopi girl named Huy-ay-ay, and how she outsmarted a group of Apache raiders. Besides telling this story, the book aims to educate children about the Hopi. How they were peaceful farmers that lived in large communities. The men and boys are shown going out to the fields to tend their corn. The women are shown shucking and grinding corn, baking bread, and handing down their folklore and culture. And while their high walled defenses are not discussed, there are pictures that depict how they attempted to protect themselves in this manner. Now while most of this was interesting to my six y.o. daughter, I have to say that what really fascinated her was how Huh-ay-ay's mother washed her hair in cactus suds and then pinned it up, wrapping it into an elaborate hair style. (Go figure.) As a Read-aloud it is a pretty good one. As a Reader, I think Bank Street ("The Bank Street College of Education) is right on with saying that this book is appropriate for second and third graders - younger children will like the pictures and story however. I've included some text so you can judge for yourselves: The sun rises hot and red over the Hopi pueblo. Huh-ay-ay runs to the window and helps her father lower a ladder. He is already searching the desert for danger. "Be careful," Father warns her. "Watch for Apache raiders. Protect the corn. Protect our people. Pull up the ladders till we return." In general, the story is divided into chapters. The print is still fairly large and there are really not that many words per page. There are however nearly 50 pages. Annoyingly there is no pronunciation guide for the heroine's name. Four Stars. Nice Artwork. Very Good Read-aloud. There is a poetic quality to the word choice that is unusual in Children's Readers. Although this book is about an attempt to attack a pueblo, there is no violence.