The Legend of the Bluebonnet

dePaola, T. (1983). The legend of the bluebonnet. NY: Putnam.

About the Book

The story is written about an old Texas tale. The Native American people called the Comanche, asked the Great Spirits for rain because the land and people were dying from the drought. The Dancers sang and danced but no rain. A little girl by the name of She-Who-Is-Alone sat removed from her people with her special warrior doll. The doll had blue feathers from the Jay bird. The shaman returned from the hills were the Great Spirit spoke to him. The people need to make a sacrifice to the land in order to bring healing rain. None of the people thought their objects were special enough to sacrifice. The little girl decided she need to sacrifice her doll. She went to the hill and lite a fire. The doll was burned and the ash was scattered. The rains came and brought beautiful blue flowers all over the hill. Today this land is known as Texas.

Visual Elements of Art Evaluation

Folk Art – In the book the characters are doll like and slightly distorted in scale to other items in the drawings. Intricate patterns are used on the native American dress. Brilliant color was used to highlight parts of the drawing to enhance the folk tales development.

Literature Evaluative Criteria

Cultural Markers – dePaola uses typical native American names for the characters. In the writing details of the time were shared, for example the description of what the doll was made from and how the paint came from berries and had beaded leggings with a belt of polished bone. Throughout the story Native American vocabulary was used to describe different things, for example fire stick, tipi, night bird, shaman, etc.