Ghost Hands

by T.A. Barron, William Low (Illustrator)

When T. A. Barron visited the Patagonian Cave of Hands and saw a footprint inside the cave, he knew there was a story there. And so he created the story of Auki, a young boy who knows he's ready to be a hunter, even though his father says he's not old enough. When Auki defies his father and sneaks out at dawn with spear in hand, he discovers something unexpected-a place he never knew existed. A place that teaches him more about his people-and himself- than a hunt ever could. This is a powerful story of courage, transformation, and imagined history.

Genres: Picture Books, Historical Fiction, Childrens, Fiction, Coming Of Age, Adventure

40 pages, Hardcover

First published July 7, 2011

About the author

T.A. Barron grew up in Colorado ranch country and traveled widely as a Rhodes Scholar. He is the winner of the de Grummond Medallion for “lifetime contribution to the field of children’s and young adult literature” and many other awards. T. A. Barron is the author of more than 30 highly acclaimed books, many of which are international bestsellers. They include The Lost Years of Merlin (now being developed into a feature film), The Great Tree of Avalon (a New York Times bestselling series), The Ancient One (the tale of a brave girl and a magical tree), and The Hero’s Trail (nonfiction stories of courageous kids).

Though he’d dreamed as a young man of becoming a writer, he couldn’t find anyone to publish his first novel. He joined a successful business, eventually became president, then decided to try again. So in 1990, he surprised his business partners by moving back to Colorado to become a writer and conservationist.

In 2000, he founded a national award to honor outstanding young people who help their communities or the environment: the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes, which honors 25 highly diverse, public-spirited kids each year. He recently produced a documentary film, Dream Big, profiling seven winners of the Barron Prize. When not writing or speaking, T. A. Barron serves on many boards including Princeton University, where he helped to create the Princeton Environmental Institute, and The Wilderness Society, which recently honored him with its highest award for conservation work. His favorite pastime is hiking, camping, or skiing in Colorado with his family.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspired by the Cave of Hands, in Argentina - "Cueva de las Manos" refers to a series of caverns whose walls were stenciled with numerous hand outlines some 10,000 years ago, presumably by the native people of Patagonia - author T.A. Barron spins the fictional tale of Auki, a young boy of the Tehuelche people who longs to become a hunter like his father. Rebuffed once again, when the season to hunt guanacos comes, Auki run off on his own, determined to prove himself. After a surprise encounter with a puma, the young boy finds himself injured, and stranded in the forbidden canyon, where the fabled cave of ghosts is located. Here he has an encounter with the elderly painter who guards the cave, and after another run-in with the puma, eventually learns the secret of the hands painted upon the cave wall...

Ghost Hands was quite the revelation! Not only did I enjoy the story for its own sake, immediately involved in Auki's quest to prove himself, I also found the book quite informative. I know very little about Patagonia, its people, past or present, or the folklore associated with it. I had never heard of the Cave of Hands - now that I have, it reminds me of France's Lascaux Caves, which also contain prehistoric artwork - nor did I know about the Tehuelche, the native people of Argentina who were (alas!) persecuted and hunted into extinction. I didn't know about the guanaco, a camelid species related to the llama and alpaca; I didn't know about calafate berries (which have their own distinct folklore); I didn't know about the tero bird; and I had never heard of Karut, the thunder god of the region. In short: I knew nothing, nothing at all about this part of the world, its history, its geography, and its culture, when I began the book. How fascinating it all seemed, reading T.A. Barron's foreword, and then his story. I'd love to track down a collection of legends and folklore from Patagonia, if such a thing has been published in English. Recommended to anyone with an interest in the Cave of Hands, and also recommended to those who have never heard of it before, but value a good story and find prehistory as fascinating as I do.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick, lovely read. I went to the library to look up some stories based in Argentina and found a children's book based in Patagonia. "Ghost Hands" is written by T.A. Barron, and the beautiful, color illustrations were drawn by William Low. The tale is about a boy named Auki, of the Tehuelche tribe, who defies his family wanting to prove his worth as a hunter. Yet a dangerous encounter with a puma leaves him in a tough spot. It also leads to a discovery of a cave with many painted hands, and evolves into something of a coming of age for the boy. This tale is supposed to be a fictional anecdote to the mystery of the actual Cueva de los Manos (Cave of the Hands) that's located in Patagonia, where there are many hands but only one footprint. I personally enjoy the story. I do wish that we knew the reason for the lone footprint in the cave, as well as heard more stories from the Tehuelche tribe, but I appreciated Barron and Low's contributions in this story. It was well done.

Overall score: 4/5

[Justin Langlois · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good tale about coming of age and a lost civilization. I was a big fan of the Merlin series and T.A Barron has a way of bringing legends to life...and to light.

[Donalyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Patagonia, there is a cave called The Cave of the Hands, which includes 890 painted handprints. Some of these prints are over 9,000 years old. Mysteriously, there is one lone footprint. The cave, the footprint, and the legends of the Patagonia's Tehuelche tribe, provide the basis for this story. Since most of Barron's story is conjecture, I didn't find his version of events believable. This book still has value as a conversation starter about traditions, legacies, and bravery.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is Barron's attempt to provide an explanation for the presence of a lone footprint outlined on the wall of a Patagonian cave that is otherwise covered with outlines of hands. I like the story up until the old painter tells Auki why he and the painters before him paint hands. That part didn't quite make sense to me. It seemed oversimplified. Aside from that, a plausible story of prehistoric times.

[Tyler Woods · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Ghost Hands” by T.A. Barron tells the story of a young Tehuelchean boy named Auki. Auki is destined to be a hunter and thinks he is ready but Auki’s father doesn’t agree. His father warns him of the danger of the puma and what it takes to be a hunter. Auki decides to take matters into his own hands and venture off to kill a puma. While hunting he stumbles upon a cave filled with handprints. The puma happens to be there too.

This story was inspired by the Cueva de las Manos (The Cave of the Hands) in Argentina. Barron traveled there and upon seeing this cave felt that a story was to be written. He researched who created the cave and discovered it belonged to the Tehuelche tribe. Sadly he discovered that there are no more Tehuelche people left. The author did his research on the tribe and didn’t display any stereotypes or tokenism. The story is very beautiful and the author made sure to note that it was fictional inspired by a real place. No one will ever be able to confirm if this story is in anyway reflective of the people. The author wrote about this tribe very respectfully and made sure to include a forward. The pictures in this book are very beautiful and breath life into this story.

[Marcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my search for books set in Argentina, I came across this story. It is a fictionalized story of how the hand paintings came to be in Patagonia's Cave of Hands that reads like a folktale.

[Eva-Marie Nevarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't expecting Julia to like this as much as she did. I only took it out from the library because the cover art was interesting to me. I wasn't sure what to expect from the title.
For me the most interesting part of the book is the note to the reader in the beginning. Barron tells the readers how, when he visits South America, he found out about the Cueva de las Manos, or, 'The Cave of Hands'.
This cave is covered with paintings of hands. In the middle of these hands, if one painting of a left foot. Barron tells how archaeologists have learned there are a total of 890 separate hands, the oldest dating back 9,000 years. That's pretty intense if you ask me.
These hands have come from the people of the Tehuelche tribe, the people native to Patagonia.
Barron goes on to tell how there are no Tehuelche left. These people were killed or made to leave by others who wanted their land. Barron even lets the reader know that the last known survivor only just died in 1960.
So, after seeing this cave and these paintings of so many hands - and of course, the lone left foot, Barron decided to create this story. And he created a good story.
I suppose it's called a 'coming-of-age' story of sorts. A young boy wants to hunt with his Father. He wants to be a man. After deciding to prove himself worthy he gets himself into a bit of a jam. A little luck helped him out of this predicament and he moves on. This is where he finds the cave. But while he's looking at the many hands covering the cave walls the painter, Pajar, sees him and forcefully tells him to go. Auki listens and starts to leave when he hears Pajar in trouble. The same sort of trouble Auki himself only just before had found himself in.
Instead of walking away and going home Auki returns and saved the old man's life. Pajar explains to Auki that the hands on the cave walls come from the tribes elders. That those hands are the hands of his people and they did so many different things. They did so, so much but the last thing they did, that he tells Auki, was that these hands "protected our people, also our traditions". Only elders had known this secret before now.
As he's preparing to begin his painting, Pajar tells Auki "that will change today". Pajar then painted Auki's foot on the wall, amidst all of the hands of his people, because his foot was what saved Pajar's life.
Young kids will probably get into the story, especially because the "trouble" I mention above is a puma. I don't know many kids that wouldn't be interested in a "fight" because a kid and a puma. It's not gory in any way and that part of the story is actually quite small.
It's really am impressive story, especially knowing how Barron came up with it. I'd so much like to know the true meaning behind the foot. I'm willing to believe though that it was something along the lines of what Barron created for is here.
William Low's illustrations are a pleasure to look over. They don't take a thing away from the story and instead are just what you'd expect while reading.
There isn't so much to the story that it would have to be read in parts. If the child(ren) are used to being read to this can easily be finished in one setting. I think Julia and I read three others immediately after finishing and talking about this, possibly four other books.
I'd suggest checking it out - it's really pretty cool.

[Julia Jasztal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mommy's review from 9/16/11 -


I wasn't expecting Julia to like this as much as she did. I only took it out from the library because the cover art was interesting to me. I wasn't sure what to expect from the title.
For me the most interesting part of the book is the note to the reader in the beginning. Barron tells the readers how, when he visits South America, he found out about the Cueva de las Manos, or, 'The Cave of Hands'.
This cave is covered with paintings of hands. In the middle of these hands, if one painting of a left foot. Barron tells how archaeologists have learned there are a total of 890 separate hands, the oldest dating back 9,000 years. That's pretty intense if you ask me.
These hands have come from the people of the Tehuelche tribe, the people native to Patagonia.
Barron goes on to tell how there are no Tehuelche left. These people were killed or made to leave by others who wanted their land. Barron even lets the reader know that the last known survivor only just died in 1960.
So, after seeing this cave and these paintings of so many hands - and of course, the lone left foot, Barron decided to create this story. And he created a good story.
I suppose it's called a 'coming-of-age' story of sorts. A young boy wants to hunt with his Father. He wants to be a man. After deciding to prove himself worthy he gets himself into a bit of a jam. A little luck helped him out of this predicament and he moves on. This is where he finds the cave. But while he's looking at the many hands covering the cave walls the painter, Pajar, sees him and forcefully tells him to go. Auki listens and starts to leave when he hears Pajar in trouble. The same sort of trouble Auki himself only just before had found himself in.
Instead of walking away and going home Auki returns and saved the old man's life. Pajar explains to Auki that the hands on the cave walls come from the tribes elders. That those hands are the hands of his people and they did so many different things. They did so, so much but the last thing they did, that he tells Auki, was that these hands "protected our people, also our traditions". Only elders had known this secret before now.
As he's preparing to begin his painting, Pajar tells Auki "that will change today". Pajar then painted Auki's foot on the wall, amidst all of the hands of his people, because his foot was what saved Pajar's life.
Young kids will probably get into the story, especially because the "trouble" I mention above is a puma. I don't know many kids that wouldn't be interested in a "fight" because a kid and a puma. It's not gory in any way and that part of the story is actually quite small.
It's really am impressive story, especially knowing how Barron came up with it. I'd so much like to know the true meaning behind the foot. I'm willing to believe though that it was something along the lines of what Barron created for is here.
William Low's illustrations are a pleasure to look over. They don't take a thing away from the story and instead are just what you'd expect while reading.
There isn't so much to the story that it would have to be read in parts. If the child(ren) are used to being read to this can easily be finished in one setting. I think Julia and I read three others immediately after finishing and talking about this, possibly four other books.
I'd suggest checking it out - it's really pretty cool.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author imagines a plausible answer to the mystery of why the Tehuelche tribe of Patagonia painted 890 different hands and one left foot in a cave in Argentina. Auki is desperate to join his father on a hunt, and while he waits to be deemed old enough, he practices the skills he will need for hunting. But when his father tells him once again that he needs to wait, he slips out on his own to prove himself. But the challenge of a puma faces him all too quickly, and and he ends up in a place about which he's only heard rumors. The Adobe Photoshop illustrations are vibrant, filled with color, and vividly show the beauty of the cliffs and canyons of Auki's world.

[Joannafrndak]

Ghost Hands is a work of fiction about a boy from the Tehuelche tribe. In this story, a young boy wishes to prove himself to be a worthy hunter, but ends up proving his courage in a different way. An encounter that the boy has with an old shaman and a cougar teaches him a valuable life lesson, and history lesson, that he did not expect.
This book is appropriate for mid-elementary school readers and above.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every day I learn something new. Today I learned of the Tehuelche tribe from South America. Although this is a fictional story, I love that the authors curiosity was so piqued by the real-life Cave of Hands that he imagined this story of how the lone foot painted amidst all the hands might have come to be. Beautifully illustrated by William Low.

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the story. The illustrations were okay but not stellar. The real strength here was the narrative, bringing a fairly plausible (and heroic!) explanation to why there's just one foot painted in the Cave of the Hands in Patagonia. I love books that bring ancient history to little kids in an engaging fashion, and Barron does that here. 3.5

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

A work of historical fiction showing a possible theory behind why there is one lone foot print on The Cave of the Hands; a cave in Argentina that has the preserved Patagonian tribes art from long long ago.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Speculative story about the "Cave of the Hands" in Patagonia.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous art. And it made me cry. At work.

[Bethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a folktale feel to it, author's note adds to that feeling. Makes me want to visit Argentina.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting...however the authors note at the beginning was far more interesting. I had to Google the pictures of The Cave of Hands. I liked the concept but not in love!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like folk tales, especially when they are well-done, and this one is very well-done, with lovely and intriguing artwork.

[Debby Baumgartner · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fiction story based on the painted hand prints found in Patagonian Cave of the Hands.

[Lea Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice story about what may have happened at the Cave of Hands. Great for inquiry learning.

[Holly Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent read about a young boy becoming a man & learning about his people. So simple yet so powerful. Barron’s diction is on point yet again with this tale!