Circle of Wonder: A Native American Christmas Story - Hardcover

Momaday, N.Scott

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0826321496 ISBN 13: 9780826321497

Publisher: University of New Mexico Press, 1999

Synopsis

Drawing on childhood memories of Christmas in a New Mexican village, Momaday produces a poetic story that skilfully blends Christian and Native American traditions. On Christmas Eve, Tolo, a lonely mute boy, is drawn by the spirit of his beloved grandfather to a bonfire in the mountains, where he shares a 'circle of wonder and good will' with an elk, a wolf and an eagle. His heart fills with love for his family, for the Christ child and for all creation, and in this brief glimpse of the interconnectedness of all life his loneliness is banished forever. Features Momaday's singular, impressionistic artwork.

About this title

Review:

"Both story and illustrations in this wonderful book sprang from Pulitzer Prize-winning Momaday's remembrances of his childhood on the Jemez Reservation, particularly during the Christmas season. He tells the story of a young mute named Tolo who shares the spirituality of the mountains and meadows with his grandfather. Upon his grandfather's death, Tolo plunges into loneliness. The frenzy of the Christmas season reawakens him, and Tolo follows the vision of his late grandfather back into the meadow where he is empowered by other creatures of the wild. Tolo transcends his own sorrow to understand the Christmas spirit." "A truly beautiful book, by a great author. . . . Every youngster (and oldster!) will be enthralled by the paintings of Momaday (Kiowa, by way of Jemez) and his tale of a Pueblo Christmas."

From the Publisher:

REVIEWS
THE AUTHOR

N. Scott Momaday is a renowned writer and artist whose first novel, "House Made of Dawn," won a 1969 Pulitzer Prize. Momaday has lectured widely and received many honors and awards. As Regents Professor at the University of Arizona (Tucson), he teaches American literature and Native American oral tradition.

"Both story and illustrations in this wonderful book sprang from Pulitzer prize-winning Momaday's remembrances of his childhood on the Jemez Reservation." (Bloomsbury Review)

"Momaday leads us on a journey of spiritual awakening, a journey we share with a lonely youngster named Tolo...The illustrations are evocative both in their richness of color and in their simplicity of image...As Native and Christian traditions merge, we experience 'the moment of Christmas and of a spirit that transcends time.'" (Native Peoples Magazine)

About this edition

• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0826321496
• ISBN 13: 9780826321497
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 42