Wendy Ricci (Children's Literature)
Great things can be accomplished when a community works together. This is the timeless message conveyed in this traditional Cherokee legend. One morning, an elderly couple wakes to discover that a thief has been stealing cornmeal from them. Their concerned grandson decides to keep watch one night and sees that the thief is the spirit of a great dog that comes from the sky. The entire tribe is alerted and asked to come the next evening with their drums and rattles. When the great spirit dog returns, all of the people work together to scare him back into the sky. The legend goes on to explain that each grain of cornmeal dropped by the terrified dog became a star and that is how the Milky Way came to be. 1995, Dial, $14.99 and $14.89. Ages 5 to 8.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, 1995)
A charming look at the time when the world was new. An old couple in the village notices that someone has been stealing their cornmeal during the night. Their grandson discovers that the thief is a giant spirit dog, which the villagers frighten away with drums and rattles; the dog jets across the sky, spilling cornmeal from its mouth that becomes the Milky Way. A simple, well-phrased text introduces ideas of respect for elders, cooperation, and reverance for the spirit world, without ever veering from the storyline. The acrylic illustrations show the villagers dressed up in clothes that were fashionable among the Cherokee in the early 1800s, and the scenes themselves have delicate patterns, especially apparent in the pictures of the women seen through the stalks of corn. The mouthless faces are deliberately uniform, but it means that young readers have only hair color--black, gray, or white--to find the characters featured in the story. Bruchac (Gluskabe and the Four Wishes, p. 222), Ross (with Bruchac, The Girl Who Married the Moon, 1994), and Stroud each provides notes. 1995, Dial, $14.99; PLB $14.89. © 1995 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, 1995)
A spirit dog on the run leaps into the sky, scattering stolen cornmeal that becomes the Milky Way. Stroud illustrates this gracefully told tale with her trademark acrylic paintings full of the rich blues of the night and the vivid greens of the fields. Bruchac, Ross, and Stroud have contributed notes on the story's origin and on the choice of the historical setting. Category: Nonfiction. 1995, Dial, 32pp.. Ages 5 to 9. Rating: 2: Superior, well above average.