Telleria gifts readers with a vision of “the rich tapestry of tribal histories” in this lavish picture book debut. When a young boy asks his father to recount how the world was created one night, his father is glad to share, telling his son “my father once told me… the animals in the stars made it.” Thus begins a breathtaking creation story, centered around a father and son’s nighttime campfire, that draws from nature’s landscape as generations upon generations pass down how the evening stars crafted a living, breathing world.“In the beginning, the Great Spirit and his children were… the only light that could be seen in the darkness” the father’s story begins, describing how his children’s boredom led the Great Spirit to fashion a “very beautiful, blue Something” out of the dark void. Konkol accompanies that reverent story with lush illustrations, illuminated in much the same way as the night sky on a clear evening, with iridescent constellations dancing across the pages. As the Great Spirit and his children infuse the world with light, so, too, does Telleria’s story shimmer with otherworldly whispers, as the blue Something transforms into a billowing aquamarine ocean punctuated by striking earth-toned animals.
This is truly a gorgeous retelling, and the Great Spirit’s playful children will delight younger readers as they scamper, skate, and stir across the oceans, creating islands in the water and framing the seascape with rippling mountains. As the “growing Something” rises from the depths, the Great Spirit’s daughter Mountain Lion and son Mountain Goat “[spring] from peak to peak,” kickstarting a cavalcade of animal brothers and sisters that shape, reform, and populate the Earth. When the animals grow weary, the Great Spirit calls them home, painting their textured shapes across the sky—and leaving a strumming legacy of light for the young boy, who whispers to his father “I [can] see them all.”
Takeaway: Gorgeous retelling of the Great Spirit’s creation of Earth.
Comparable Titles: S.D. Nelson’s The Star People, Kevin Locke’s The Seventh Direction.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
