Holling, Holling C. Books

The Book of Indians

Holling Clancy Holling

By: The Platt & Munk Co Amazon Marketplace: 22 new & used starting at $9.95

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( H ) -> Holling, Holling C.
Subjects -> Children's Books -> People & Places -> Multicultural Stories -> Native North & South Americans
Subjects -> Children's Books -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A childhood favorite that stands the test of time 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This book has been in my family a long time. My mother originally gave it to her younger brother in 1940, and he later gave it to my brother, some time in the 1950s. In 2000, my brother gave it to my daughter. Our copy has gotten pretty threadbare.

My daughter, who is now 15, dismisses the book as "racist." I don't think that is at all fair. It isn't racist in the sense that "Gone with the Wind" is racist. Maybe she is put off by the use of the non-PC word "Indians"? There are plenty of "Native Americans" who are perfectly happy with the label "Indians."

Anyway, this gorgeous book is an attempt at ethnography for a young audience, documenting the material culture of four different types of Native Americans: northeast woods, plains, desert and northwest coastal. Large color illustrations and lots of detailed drawings and diagrams accompany the clear and simple (but never condescending) text.

As a child I spent hours poring over the Hollings' cutaway diagrams and floor plans of plains earth lodges, northeastern wickiups, kivas, and northwestern split plank lodges. If I had been so inclined, I could probably have duplicated quillwork, feather blankets, tipi construction or woven fur robes based on these detailed illustrations.

Each separate group is described in detail in a first expository chapter, which is followed by a story about a child from that group. The stories are exciting and fun, and the action keeps the book from getting too dry. I especially liked the thrilling tale of the young northwest boy who goes on his first whale hunt and accidentally goes into the drink when a long line of floats gets wrapped around his ankle. He survives to tell the tale, while eating whale meat dipped in melted blubber at the communal feast the follows the successful hunt.

The book does a good job of showing how life changed over time, for some groups. The desert people are shown first in cliff dwellings, and much later in a mesa-top pueblo. Some of the effects of contact with the white man are also shown: "Before" and "After" chapters show how the plains peoples' culture underwent an amazing flowering after they began to use horses.

Of course, no mention is made of the ravages of European diseases, or the distressing effects of the introduction of alcohol. The decline of the Native Americans as they lost their lands and livelihoods is left for children to learn later, as they become ready for such hard truths. But this book prepares the way for those revelations by teaching just how rich Native American cultures were, before they were lost forever. I can't fault the Hollings for this omission. Their book is clearly a labor of love, both educational and entertaining.

Editorial Review:

Over 9¾" - 12" tall. From the Foreword: "No writer can tell all about the North American Indians in one book, and no artist can draw all the pictures there are to draw. The tribes of Indians are so many that if we tried to tell abou them tribes everyone would be hopeless lost. Insead we take the Indians as a whole and divide them into different types of Indians living in the different kinds of country. This is explained in the first chapter. In the rest of the book there are four chapters about the home life of Indian children and eight chapters relating their adventures."

Paddle-to-the-Sea

Holling Clancy Holling

By: Trumpet Club Amazon Marketplace: 16 new & used starting at $1.99

Buy at Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 71 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A Childhood Memory 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I read this book 60 years ago as a young boy of 10. It made a tremendous impression on me with regards to the geography of the Great Lakes of the US and Canada. I was thrilled to find that it is still being printed and the pictures are the same as I remember--excellent. A wonderful story.

Excellent reading material, especially for boys 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is a great book to read. I would highly recommend this book and others by the author for fun reading and at the same time great learning opportunities.

Paddle to the Sea 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I purchased this as a gift for my daughter. She is delighted. The art work is beautiful. She was so happy I purchased the rest of the set and they are just as beautiful.

Remarkable achievement, though a slow read for young ones 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I think the temptation here is to give "Paddle to the Sea" five stars. After all, the book is a dazzling display of art and narrative, an educational and interesting tale. But five stars is the voice of the adult reviewer, and this book is mostly read by and to young children.

I was excited to stumble across this book in the library: I remembered it from my childhood. But I was surprised to find how little of the book I remembered. Mostly I remembered the general idea--perhaps my parents were not too keen on reading the entire book.

From the perspective of my daughter (nearly 6), the book was well worth reading, though not terribly compelling. She was curious to learn about Paddle's journey, and interested in the geography (we live right on the route). She liked many of the illustrations, though not nearly so much as I. The book is quite lengthy: it took us several bedtimes to finish it. I was drawn back to the book each night, eager for more of the art and story. I liked the altruism of the people who find Paddle, and the solidarity they show with a maker they will never meet. There is a beautiful selflessness in the land and in the people of the land. But I found that it was I who wanted to read the book each night, more so than my daughter. For young ones, the art is less impressive and the story is a bit slow. And since children's books ought to be ranked with children in mind, we'll have to give this book fewer stars than it otherwise deserves.

Editorial Review:

A young Indian boy carves a little canoe with a figure inside and names him Paddle-to-the-Sea. Paddle's journey, in text and pictures, through the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean provides an excellent geographic and historical picture of the region.

Choo-Me-Shoo

Holling Clancy Holling

By: Buzza Co Amazon Marketplace: 1 new & used starting at $125.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( H ) -> Holling, Holling C.
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> General AAS

Rum = Tum = Tummy: The elephant who ate

Holling Clancy Holling

By: Saalfield Pub. Co Amazon Marketplace: 1 new & used starting at $40.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( H ) -> Holling, Holling C.
Subjects -> Children's Books -> General AAS

The twins who flew around the world,

Holling Clancy Holling

By: The Platt and Munk Co., Inc Amazon Marketplace: 3 new & used starting at $45.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( H ) -> Holling, Holling C.
Subjects -> Children's Books -> General AAS
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> General -> General AAS

Pagoo

Holling Clancy Holling

By: Hale Amazon Marketplace: 2 new & used starting at $15.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( H ) -> Holling, Holling C.
Subjects -> Children's Books -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Still wonderful after all these years 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I read this book in elementary school and went looking for it again last year as a gift for a niece. The story is wonderful and little Pagoo is a really lovable character. But there's also a lot of fascinating natural detail. And stunning illustrations. It's a children's book version of a top-notch Nature documentary. "Nova" in print, if you will. Also check out Holling Clancy Holling's other books. They're all great, even looking back at them after three decades.

I read this book several times as a child. 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I loved Pagoo as a child and have just read it to my two boys. It is a wonderful story of a little hermit crab and his adventures while growing up in a tide pool by the sea.The illustrations are beautiful. A must for any young reader interested in ocean life.

This is a fantastic classic for nature lovers 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I first read this book when I was in graduate school. I was so excited about it that I gave it as a gift to several children and my biology professor. The story, the biology and the artwork all worked together to make this a sheer pleasure to read and share.

Editorial Review:

An intricate study of tide pool life is presented in text and pictures through the story of Pagoo, a her-mit crab.