Teresa Pijoan

I basically tripped over this book on Ebay while I was looking for another. Being that it was Native American mythoi I was intrigued to give it a read since I had just finished with another book that had been about Coyote stories.

The stories were interesting and include story notes that tell you how Teresa Pijoan came across the stories. There was information also included to explain some parts that may have been confusing (although not always the case) and the Afterword went into details show more about Native American beliefs for those of us that are looking in.

What I found fascinating with this collection of stories was the fact you could hear the different storytellers in the telling of their stories. There was no individual voice but many, which is a blessing when you are reading about various tales.

Altogether a good introduction and a beautiful collection of various myths showing the "togetherness" of Native American beliefs. Due to the graphic nature of some stories I wouldn't offer it to a child. show less

Teresa Pijoan pulled this bilingual collection of stories together from people who live in the New Mexico area. All of the stories, even the one told by Czech emigrants, have a Latino flavor. Each story starts with an introduction about the storyteller, giving this book the flavor of oral tradition. Sadly, the stories themselves and the writing, were not memorable. They were okay, but the only one I enjoyed was "The Love of Gold" which had war, raiders and rolling heads in it. I wouldn't show more have finished reading it if side-by-side English/Spanish books were easy to find. It's much more enjoyable to practice Spanish by watching Pedro Infante movies three times in a row. show less

Substance: Not all that dark and evil; the stories were entertaining and interesting. Some folk tales foundations.
Style: OK.