Iktomi and the Boulder- Genre 2

Bibliography

Goble, Paul. 1988. Iktomi and the Boulder. New York, NY: Orchard Books. ISBN 0-531-05760-7.

Plot Summary

This is a Plains Indian story that is retold and illustrated by Paul Goble. The story begins when Iktomi is walking aimlessly along to visit relatives in a nearby village. He is conceited and loves the way he is dressed. He is showing off as he is walking along. He begins to get very hot and decides to leave his blanket on a boulder as a generous gesture to protect the boulder from the hot sun. He goes on his way and realizes it will rain. He goes back to get his blanket to protect him. The boulder chases him up a hill and across a river until it rolls on top of Iktomi's legs. He pleads with animals to help roll it off of him, but they give up and leave him alone. In the night he sees bats and tells them how the boulder was insulting the bats. He makes them angry and they hit the boulder to break it into pieces of rocks and Iktomi walks away.

Critical Analysis

Goble writes and illustrates a Sioux Indian tale explaining the reasons for rocks scattered over the Great Plains. Iktomi is the Sioux name of a clever, mischief maker. Goble tells in his forward how he always tries to fool others, but he is stupid and a liar. In the note for the reader Iktomi's thoughts are in small print. The italic print is where the the author asks questions to discuss about Iktomi. The reader is actively thinking while reading the story. The story is supposed to explain why bats have flattened faces, and why there are rocks scattered all over the Great Plains. The pictures are colorful, but the facial expressions are simple. Goble uses dash marks to show Iktomi walking in the distance. Iktomi is a grey figure in the distance. His drawings add to the meaning of the text.

Review Excerpt(s)

Golden Sower Award 1992

Connections

-Read other Iktomi stories such as Iktomi and the Berries, Iktomi and the Coyote and Iktomi loses his Eyes. Compare the character Iktomi in each of the stories.
-Use the story to introduce science lesson on rocks.
-Students write their own Iktomi story to explain why something happened