First Fire A Cherokee Folktale by Nancy Kelly Allen and Illustrated by Sherry Rogers

This brilliantly written book is a Cherokee pourquoi folktale. Animals are discussed throughout the book. Animals brought fire back to an island to keep them warm when it was cold outside. It answers questions such as, why are ravens black? How do we get fire? Why do some owl eyes look red when you look at their eyes? The illustrations are perfectly matched to an inspiring folktale. 

In the back of this book you will find maps, true and false along with various other activities. I recommend this book, it's great!
 

About the author:  Nancy Kelly Allen is a retired school librarian and an award winning author. She had a great grandmother who was a Cherokee. Her grandmother inspired this folktale and many other books.


About the illustrator:  Sherry Rogers spent twelve years as a corporate graphic designer and artist before “leaving it all behind” for the freelance world of illustrating children’s books. Through illustrating The First Fire, Sherry remembers her own ancestor, Na Ni, a Cherokee woman from the mountains of North Carolina. 

Of NOTE:  A pourquoi tale describes the origin of something, often in a humorous or exaggerated way. Rudyard Kipling's "Just So Stories," some of Aesop's fables and many folk tales are pourquoi tales, which may tell of how the leopard got his spots, or why the rabbit has a short stubby tail. Grade-school teachers often have children learn to write by creating pourquoi tales.  Read more: http://www.ehow.com/info_8475556_three-elements-pourquoi-tale.html#ixzz2zckdNO2c

DISCLOSURE: A complimentary copy was provided by Abordale Publishing (formerly Sylvan Dell Publishing) in exchange for our honest review. Opinions expressed are solely those of the reviewer and no compensation was received for this review.