Myths and Legends

Hide And Sneak

Inuit author Michael Kusugak uses a mythological figure and traditional Inuit practices as the backdrop for this dramatic story. Allashua ignores the inuksugaq as she plays hide-and-seek. Soon she encouters an Ijiraq–a tiny half-bird, half-human creature who loves to play. Allashua remembers her mother telling her that if an Ijiraaq hides you, no one will ever find you again. Eventually Ijiraq disappears and Allashua gets lost on the tundra. With no idea of which way to go, she heads toward a small block dot on a far-off hill. When Allashua realizes the dot is the inuksugaq and that it can guide her safely home, she understands the riddle of its existence.

Mayuk the Grizzly Bear: A Legend of the Sechelt People

This is a story of how one great-grandfather decides to give his great-grandson his special name in the Sechelt language. These traditional teaching legends come straight from the oral traditions of the Sechelt Nation.

 

The Loon’s Necklace

According to Canadian Indian legend, when an old man’s sight was restored by a Loon he gave the bird his precious shell necklace as a reward. That is why the loon has a white collar and speckles on its back. Elizabeth Cleaver’s rich and beautiful style of picture-making gives new visual excitement to the splendors of the British Columbia landscape, and to the magic of this Indian legend.

Glooscap And His Magic

Short children’s stories about Glooscap, a mythical Wabanaki hero. In each of the short stories, Glooscap conducts some form of intervention. Often this occurs while in disguise so that the moral or ethical character of his ‘subject’ can be determined and either rewarded or punished.

How Summer Came To Canada

When the giant Winter came down from the North to live in eastern Canada the land became frozen and white. Glooskap, mythical lord and creator of the Micmac Indians, saves his people from endless cold when he brings a beautiful Queen to his country. Her name is Summer and she persuades Winter to relax his icy grip every Spring while she awakens the land from its deep sleep and bestows life on everything that grows.

More Glooscap Stories: Legends of the Wabanaki Indians

Eighteen traditional tales of the Wabanaki tribe from the eastern woodland include “Glooscap, the Great Chief,” “The Year Summer Was Stolen, ” and “Tomik and the Magic Mat.”

The Star-Bearer: A Creation Myth from Ancient Egypt

A five-thousand-year-old story.When the godchild Atum emerges from inky silence to begin his work of creation, he first conjures up the passionate gods of air and rain, followed by Geb, god of the earth, and Nut, goddess of the sky. But earth and sky cling to each other, sharing whispered secrets and laughter, leaving Atum no room to complete his creation. So Atum has no choice but to force them apart, infuriating Geb and leaving Nut sad and lonely . . . until Thoth, the god of wisdom, takes pity on her.

The Fifth And Final Sun: An Ancient Aztec Myth Of The Sun’s Origin

Back in the earliest memories of the world, the God of the Night ruled the skies, but his reign as sun was ended by the jealousy of the God of the Wind. The ancient gods’ struggle for supremacy raged for ages, until the creation, by sacrifice of the fifth and final sun. “An unusual book that should do much to illuminate the legends of an important ancient culture.” — Kirkus Reviews