Southwest Children's Literature

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The Fire Stealers

Book Review:

Aliksa'i (Listen!) The Fire Stealers, a retelling of a traditional Hopi story, tells how the People acquired fire. When this pourquoi story begins, the Hopi are living in the cold and darkness; they have no fires with which to warm themselves, no fires with which to cook their food. The elders send a strong young man to find fire, and he reports that it will be difficult to steal the well-protected treasure from a neighboring village. The elders send four animals, the Owl, the Gopher, the Coyote, and the Vulture. Each one is sent for its particular strength, but the fire burns some part of each animal. These scars explain some physical characteristic of each one. Although Vulture's head feathers are burned and it becomes bald, the firebrand Vulture returns to the Hopi is still live and fire is kindled in Hopiland.

According to the note at the beginning of the book, Ekkehart Malotki recorded the original story, "How the Hopis First Got Fire," from Michael Lomatuway'ma, a Hopi man from Hotevilla. Malotki "retitled the story The Fire Stealers and reworked it to improve its narrative flow and its appeal to young readers." The illustrations by Ken Gary were inspired by ancient Pueblo kiva murals. These murals, pottery, and other ancient artifacts were used in conjunction with modern-day Hopi and Pueblo culture to guide the illustrations. The influence of kachinas and pottery designs is particularly strong in the black-lined images and borders. The endpapers show fire and corn, and students will note these symbols and reflections of Hopi culture throughout the book.

 

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