Te Ata (1895–1995)

Baby Rattlesnake longs for a rattle in this retelling of a Native American folktale, refusing to be comforted by the assurances of his parents, his siblings, and the Rattlesnake People that he will grow into one. Finally, fed up with his constant crying, his people give him what he wants, but his irresponsible use of the rattle leads to disaster...

Based upon an oral telling of this tale done by Chickasaw actress and storyteller Te Ata, Lynn Moroney's adaptation is a cautionary tale about the show more dangers of possessing abilities for which one is not ready. The illustrations by Veg Reisberg are colorful, and rather cartoon-like. A brief but entertaining little book, perfect for young readers with an interest in Native American folklore, although I do wish that the specific origin of the tale had been discussed - should I assume it is Chickasaw, because Ata was? show less

A sweet little book. Baby rattlesnake wants a rattle like his older brother and sister (and parents) but is told he's too young. After a long period of crying and keeping the other rattlesnakes awake, they decide to give him the rattle even though he's not ready for it. He's taken with the rattle, but moreso with scaring the other animals in the desert. But he goes too far when he decides to scare the human chief's daughter...

I found this book in the used bookstore near my house, strangely show more after a week where I dreamt 3-4 nights out of 7 about rattlesnakes. When I saw this on the shelf, I took the hint and snatched up the book quickly. Very pleased I did. show less

A multicultural book for children, Lynn Moroney does a fantastic job in retelling a tale from the Chickasaw Tribe in providing a lesson in the value of self-control for all young readers to relate to. Baby Rattlesnake is about a little rattlesnake that cries and cries for a rattle as big as his brother and sister. He is informed by his parents that he is still too young. But this did not keep baby rattlesnake from crying. And his crying kept the Rattlesnake People up all night. Eventually show more the parents gave in. Excited with his new gift, he mischievously uses his rattle to scare any little animal that comes his way. He continues this trend until one day he scares the wrong animal. This is a great book for children. show less

This book is about a young rattlesnake that is desperate to get his rattle. He did not understand why it was important for him to wait until he was older. He cried day and night until finally the elders of the rattlesnake people decided to go ahead and give him a rattle. He began to use his rattle to scare animals. He told his parents that he was going to the place where the Indians travel. He was going to scare the chief’s daughter. He learned the hard way that he was not making a good show more decision. The chief’s daughter was so scared by his rattle that she stomped it into many pieces.

This was a good book. I liked that even though Baby Rattlesnake went against the advice of his parents, they comforted him with big rattlesnake hugs.

This would be a great book to use when teaching about snakes. The students could make their own rattles using plastic eggs and dried beans. This book could also be used to teach a lesson on forgiveness. The students could write about a time when they were forgiven for a mistake. show less