how the stars fell into the sky by jerrie oughton

But this is just a story to explain why we can't explain what the stars are for. I couldn't wait to find out what the laws were and I thought the constellations would come into play. It's cool that the author saw a reference of this legend in a National Geographic magazine and was inspired. Or that we look at the stars and don't know what they mean so we're confused? I didn't like the ending at all because it wasn't explained and I don't know what the message is. Does it mean Navajo don't have laws? I don't think that's what the story meant to say. I flipped the page looking for something positive but no, the book ended on that negative, and confusing, note. It ended with people living and not knowing about Coyote jumbling the stars and not knowing the reason for the confusion that would always be with them. And the warrior would warm himself by them when he was in unknown territory.Ĭoyote was impatient and it done so he picked up her blanket and threw the rest into the sky, undoing her patterns. She patiently explained that the people will see them before they go in their hogans at night. She asked what was as important as writing laws. She put the stars in the sky in certain patterns everyone could read.Ĭoyote watched her and asked to help, but there were so many more stars left that he complained at it was slow work. He saw the stars and told her to use her jewels and write them in the sky. He then told her to write them in the water but she said they would disappear. He told her to write them in the sand but she said the wind would blow them away.

I could tell by looking at the cover that I wasn't crazy about the illustrations.įirst Woman told First Man that people needed to know the laws and they had to write them for everyone to see. This is a retelling of a Navajo legend told by the medicine man Hosteen Klah at the turn of the 20th century.

How the stars fell into the sky by jerrie oughton