Picture Book #13--The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush

Title:  The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush

Author:  (retold by) Tomie dePaola

Illustrator:  Tomie dePaola

Grade Level Equivalent:  2.8

Lexile Measure:  840L

Genre:  Children's Literature

Subgenre:  Traditional Literature

Theme:  Follow your dreams.

Primary and Secondary Characters:  Little Gopher

Awards:  N/A

Date of Publication:  1988

Publisher:  Penguin Group

ISBN:  0698113608

The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush is a Native American tale that follows Little Gopher on his quest to find his true calling.  He is not like the other boys in the tribe.  He cannot keep up during hunts or athletic events so he sets out to the highest hill to await a Dream-Vision that would tell him what he was meant to do.  When he finally recieves his Dream-Vision, Little Gopher knows that he is supposed to be a great artist who captures his peoples' stories and legends with the colors of nature so that all the people can remember them.  His main mission is to find a pure white buckskin and paint the colors of the sunset.  After finding the buckskin, he struggles to find the right colors to paint it.  It is then that Little Gopher heard a voice telling him that since he had been true to his Dream-Vision he needed to go to the highest hill at sunset and there he would be rewarded with the colors he needed.  The next night, he followed the voice's instructions and he was given paintbrushes filled with the colors of the sunset.  After painting his buckskin, he took it back to show his people, leaving the paintbrushes behind.  The next morning, and every following spring, the paintbrushes bloomed into beautiful flowers. 

This would be a great book to have in a classroom when studying about Native Americans and their legends.  It gives insight into how the people of this culture discovered their true paths in life.  It is told in a very kid-friendly way and the illustrations by Tomie dePaola are very bright and colorful.