The Story of Jumping Mouse

I love this book and read it whenever I'm feeling down on myself. It's not just a "great kids' book" or a nice "Native American" story. This is a story about letting go of what people tell you you cannot do and pushing forward always. It's about following your heart, spirit, soul - whatever you want to call it, despite what tries to get in the way. It's about sacrificing for the good of all living things. And, at the end, it's really about total transformation. Jumping Mouse is on a quest to find "the mountain," but instead discovers who he is truly meant to be. I LOVE this book!

Very beautiful and detailed black and white illustrations, and an inspiring retelling by the author.

The thing that concerns me about this book, and keeps me from enjoying it fully, is that no tribe was directly credited with the origin of the story, and I have no way of knowing what exactly the author changed in this retelling. I really would've liked to see an elder or respected storyteller of the tribe get behind this project. I'm also concerned about whether or not this story was meant to be written down and shared- among some tribes, certain stories are meant to stay only within the oral tradition and aren't allowed to be written down.

There are a lot of cultural concerns I have about this book, in general, but it does have a sweet show more moral and meaning. show less

This has beautiful black and white illustrations and is an interesting retelling of a Great Plains Native American tale. While I loved the pictures, I'm put off by the immensity of sacrifice that the mouse so willingly offers, and the incongruity of him being turned into what would have been his enemy at the end. Could generate an interesting discussion about sacrifice. Perhaps pair this with The Giving Tree (another book whose message of one-sided sacrifice seems potentially harmful), and with the Magic Pomegranate which has (in my opinion) more appropriate sacrifice.

Beautiful.?á I'm sure there's some deeper, metaphorical, metaphysical meaning.?á Crossing a river, jumping into the sky, transformation, quest, suffering... all those have to be symbols that scholars, especially religious scholars, can appreciate better than I.?á But the story is lovely at face value, imo.?á And the illustrations, though just B&W, somehow glow....

(re' Great Plains Indian - well, as far as *I* am concerned, I don't care who told the story first; I don't imagine any other version could have the same power as Steptoe's.)

Reading Level: Primary
Genre: Traditional Literature
Summary: The Native American tale about Jumping Mouse and how he uses his gifts from the Magic Frog and his unselfishness to get to the Far Off Land that he dreams of.
Evaluation: This is an interesting Native American legend about compassion that will get students interested in the Native American culture. It was exciting and heartwarming. The theme of this book shows that unselfishness can get you a long way, a great lesson for students. Putting others before yourself can end up helping you in the long run, and persevering and working hard will lead you to your dreams. The illustrations in this book are black and white, but they are still very beautiful and bring the book to life. show more This is a beautiful story that has been passed down for many years in the Native American culture. show less

I think John Steptoe does justice to this retelling of a Native American legend. He does acknowledge it's not his story. I would like to have a page in the back that provides sources and resources to further research the story. The pencil illustrations are detailed and wonderfully, cleverly from the perspective of a mouse.

A young mouse has a dream to reach the far-off land he has heard about in stories. As he begins his journey, he encounters a magic frog that has the power to give him a frog's ability to jump simply by giving him a new name - "Jumping Mouse". As the mouse continues on his quest, he battles both laziness and adversity. He also encounters other creatures that have lost some important skill, and selflessly gives up his own abilities for sight and smell to help friends he meets along the way. When at last he reaches the far-off land, his determination and selflessness are rewarded when he becomes the mighty creature he once feared... the shadow in the sky.