Monster Slayer: A Navajo Folktale

by Vee Browne, Baje Whitethorne

A terrible monster is plaguing the Anasazi villages of the Southwest's canyon country, so much so that the villagers are afraid to plant their crops. Who will save them from the monster's wrath? The Twins, twelve-year-old sons of Changing Woman, respond to the villagers' cries for help.

Immortalized for centuries through the oral storytelling tradition, the Twins now come alive on the pages of this colorful book, a partial recreation of the traditional Navajo story, retold and illustrated by two talented Navajo people.

Genres: Picture Books, Indigenous, Native American, Fiction

Hardcover

First published August 1, 1991

Reviews

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this portion of the Navajo folktale about Monster Slayer, Changing Woman's twins defeat a giant that plagues the people. Changing Woman names one of the twins Monster Slayer.

This book would be appropriate as a read-aloud book for children between four and six. Young children will enjoy the traditional tone of the story and the colorful illustrations that reflect Navajo artistic traditions. Children that enjoy adventure stories and folktales may also enjoy this book. It could be used to develop narrative retelling skills with young readers.

[Malcolm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Required reading at Dilcon elementary school.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book-didn't love it-but I liked it. It is a story based on a Navajo Folktale. Twin boys must find a way to defeat the Monster Birds in order to save their people. The pictures are interesting, but not really my style. The story doesn't flow very well in my opinion, but the author does use a lot of references to the culture which make it interesting.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cluttered. Choppy. That describes the writing and the art. A couple of times I turned back a page to see if I'd inadvertently skipped something.