Her Seven Brothers by Paul Goble

Bibliography
Goble, Paul. 1988. HER SEVEN BROTHERS. Ill. Paul Goble. New York, NY: Colier Macmillan Canada, Inc. ISBN 0027379604

Plot Summary
This story is a retelling of a Cheyenne legend about a girl who was an only child, but was never really alone because she could understand and speak with the birds and animals. The girl was talented at embroidery and making beautiful clothes. One day she began making a set of clothes for a man, but when she was finished she put them to the side instead of giving them to someone. She immediately began working on another set of men's clothes. When her parents asked her why she did this, she explained that "there are seven brothers who live by themselves," she explains that she has seen them in her mind and that the clothes are for these brothers. The girl completes the clothes and begins the long journey to find her brothers. When she reaches their home, the littlest brother is there and they wait for the older brothers to return from hunting. The brothers and sister looked after each other for a short while and then a small buffalo comes to their tipi and asks for the girl to come with him or, "the chief of the buffalo nation" will return to get her and all of the brothers will be killed. The littlest brother refuses to let the girl leave and so two more buffaloes return, each bigger than the last, asking for the girl. Each time the buffalo are refused. When the entire buffalo nation comes to take the girl, she and her brother climb up a tree to get away. The buffalo begin to strike the tree and break it apart and the siblings have nowhere to go, until the littlest brother takes out his bow and shoots arrows into the air, which makes the tree grow higher and higher. The siblings climb high into the sky where they can jump down "onto the boundless star-prairies of the world above." They are still there today; "they are the Seven Stars in the northern sky, which we call the Big Dipper."

Critical Analysis
Paul Goble retells this Cheyenne legend true to the culture it comes from. He begins the story with an explanation of storytelling in the Cheyenne tradition. I found it interesting that both the first and last page were printed in italics. It seemed as if they were both additions to the story, extra pieces that are set apart from the story. The language Goble used, "the geese brought back the springtime" and "fade slowly into the immensity of the blue distance," influenced the way I looked at the pictures.
He includes a NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR that explains the designs, the use of animals, and the methods of the illustrations, in this case pen and Indian ink. Goble also explains that "thin white lines are left, to try to achieve the brightness of Indian bead and quill work, and to capture something of the bright colors that one sees in the clear air of the Great Plains."

Review Excerpts
Starred Review in Publishers Weekly: "With the same artistry as his Caldecott Medal-winning..."
Starred Review in School Library Journal: "Goble stylizes and idealizes..."

Connections
*Share other Cheyenne legends retold by Goble
*Share traditional tales from other cultures that explain natural phenomena