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Antelope Woman: An Apache Folktale
A beautiful Apache maiden follows the mysterious young man who has come to teach her people to respect "all things great and small" and becomes his wife
41 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1992
43 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 19, 2017
Written and illustrated by Michael Lacapa, Antelope Woman instructs readers to honor everything on the earth by outlining a story about a young man and woman who turn into antelope. Antelope Woman starts with a father explaining to his son an important story before they go hunting. The story follows a young woman who meets a man whose uniqueness catches her interest. As she follows him into the woods, he jumps through four hoops and turns into an antelope. Following him through the hoops, she also turns into this animal and learns the symbiotic nature of the earth, emphasizing the idea that everything, no matter how big or small, needs to be respected. I was very on the fence about this picturebook just because of how repetitive the moral is in the story; however, this is generally something that is very common in folktales. Besides the repetitiveness, I really enjoyed the vibrancy of the illustrations and the story.
The characters in this picturebook are very flat characters. For example, readers don’t even know the names of any of the characters in the book. Described as “young woman” and “young man,” these characters don’t have much depth to them. Instead of making readers focus on these people, this makes the audience think of the bigger picture within the book: to honor all living things. The point of view of this picturebook is unique because it is written from the eyes of the father who retells this story to his son. On page one, the story starts with “listen, my son.” This almost gives readers the sense that they are directly in the plotline telling the story.
Lacapa utilizes typography, bleeds, and the lack of frames all to accomplish the idea that readers are directly involved in retelling this story. For example, on page 15, the text is directly placed over the illustration. This creates this sense of being directly within the story to the audience. Lacapa also uses color and shapes to create this similar sense. On page 15, the vibrant colors of red, green, yellow, and orange and the bold geometric shapes all give this dreamlike quality to the story. This stuck out to me reading this because this use of shapes and colors is exactly what I would imagine in my head if I were retelling a story. Both of these elements essentially drill the moral of the story into the audience’s heads. Because readers are essentially telling the story from the father’s point of view, we directly see this moral set into place.
This picturebook is a traditional tale because of it is a retelling of a story that Lacapa heard. As mentioned before, all of the characters are flat characters and have very little change. It also deals with personified animals; the man and woman literally turn into antelope for the majority of the story. Lastly, it repetitively emphasizes the main moral of the story of respecting the earth. All of these elements hit the idea that Antelope Woman is a traditional folktale.
The characters in this picturebook are very flat characters. For example, readers don’t even know the names of any of the characters in the book. Described as “young woman” and “young man,” these characters don’t have much depth to them. Instead of making readers focus on these people, this makes the audience think of the bigger picture within the book: to honor all living things. The point of view of this picturebook is unique because it is written from the eyes of the father who retells this story to his son. On page one, the story starts with “listen, my son.” This almost gives readers the sense that they are directly in the plotline telling the story.
Lacapa utilizes typography, bleeds, and the lack of frames all to accomplish the idea that readers are directly involved in retelling this story. For example, on page 15, the text is directly placed over the illustration. This creates this sense of being directly within the story to the audience. Lacapa also uses color and shapes to create this similar sense. On page 15, the vibrant colors of red, green, yellow, and orange and the bold geometric shapes all give this dreamlike quality to the story. This stuck out to me reading this because this use of shapes and colors is exactly what I would imagine in my head if I were retelling a story. Both of these elements essentially drill the moral of the story into the audience’s heads. Because readers are essentially telling the story from the father’s point of view, we directly see this moral set into place.
This picturebook is a traditional tale because of it is a retelling of a story that Lacapa heard. As mentioned before, all of the characters are flat characters and have very little change. It also deals with personified animals; the man and woman literally turn into antelope for the majority of the story. Lastly, it repetitively emphasizes the main moral of the story of respecting the earth. All of these elements hit the idea that Antelope Woman is a traditional folktale.
October 25, 2018
Beautiful illustrations.
July 6, 2017
A wonderful and quick read that starts off as a Grandfather introduces his grandson to the world of Apache learning as they hunt. It is a beautiful lesson of respect for all things great and/or small that is repeated throughout this retelling.
This is actually one Native American story that I haven't heard before but it does contain some similar elements to other Native American tales where the natural and manmade worlds are intimately woven. A special person from one world is captured up with the holiness of the other world while making the change to become a part of that other world yet at the same time rooting their own world in that special bond of interconnectedness.
The illustrations were interesting to look at, especially where the Pronghorn were involved. Unlike some of the other known Native American retellers there wasn't as much natural details of the Apache wilderness but there is still a beautiful vividness that captures the Apache life just perfectly. The freedom of the Pronghorn, the calm of Apache lifestyles and the freedom of movement between the worlds will have the reader conveyed into a beautiful retelling that will touch the gentle soul.
All in all a beautiful story to share with your loved ones or to enjoy to yourself....
This is actually one Native American story that I haven't heard before but it does contain some similar elements to other Native American tales where the natural and manmade worlds are intimately woven. A special person from one world is captured up with the holiness of the other world while making the change to become a part of that other world yet at the same time rooting their own world in that special bond of interconnectedness.
The illustrations were interesting to look at, especially where the Pronghorn were involved. Unlike some of the other known Native American retellers there wasn't as much natural details of the Apache wilderness but there is still a beautiful vividness that captures the Apache life just perfectly. The freedom of the Pronghorn, the calm of Apache lifestyles and the freedom of movement between the worlds will have the reader conveyed into a beautiful retelling that will touch the gentle soul.
All in all a beautiful story to share with your loved ones or to enjoy to yourself....
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews