The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush

Title: The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush
Author: Tomie dePaola
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Copyright: 1988 by Tomie dePaola
Pages: 40
Ages: 4-8
Genre: Legend/Picture Book

Summary:
Little Gopher was not like the other little boys in his tribe. They could run and jump and play all day but Little Gopher was unable to keep up. His family worried for him. But he has his own gift. He was an artist. The Shaman of the tribe told Little Gopher that he was not meant to be a warrior, he would be remembered for a different reason. When he is on his journey to be a man, he has a vision and is given a task. He is to paint the colors of the sky on a pure white skin. The next day he began to paint, and tried and tried, but could never get the colors quite right. Sometimes he still wanted to go with the other warriors but he remembered his vision and continued his work. He would go to the top of the hill each evening and watch the colors of the sky. One night, he heard a voice telling him to take the white buckskin to the top of the hill and the colors would be provided. At the top of the hill, the paintbrushes and colors were there. He worked quickly and painted the sky. The next morning the hills were covered in flowers the same colors as the sunset. Every Spring after, the tribe celebrated Little Gopher who painted for them. And the changed his name to He-who-brought-the-Sunset-to-the-Earth.

Who would I recommend this to?
I would recommend this book to people who like legends and Native American History.
Possible Problems:
The only problem I see with this book is that he didn’t get to be a warrior.
My reaction:
I enjoyed this book as a child, but no longer enjoy it. I did like the illustrations, but the story no longer caught my attention.