The Shaman's Apprentice: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest

by Mark J. Plotkin, Lynne Cherry (Illustrator)

For thousands of years, in the jungles of the Amazon, shamans have passed their wisdom of the medicinal values of rain forest plants from one generation to the next. The Shaman's Apprentice tells the story of a Tirio Indian boy who dreams of one day being the tribal shaman, and how he and his people learn the importance of their own knowledge about the healing properties of the rain forest.

Genres: Picture Books, Cultural, Nature, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Childrens, Amazon

36 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Mark J. Plotkin is an ethnobotanist.

Reviews

[David Ward · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Shaman’s Apprentice: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest by Lynne Cherry and Mark J. Plotkin (Harcourt Brace & Co. 1998) (Fiction - Children’s)(3623).

This is a children’s book about the healing arts. The takeaway is that whether the practitioner is a western-trained medical doctor or a traditional aboriginal shaman-healer, many useful medicines abound in the flora and fauna of field and rainforest.

That sounds great, right? However, I can’t recommend this book to anyone for reasons set forth in the last paragraphs below.

The Shaman’s Apprentice: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest is a simple tale about a little boy from the Tirio tribe in the Amazon. When he is taken ill, traditional medicines cannot make him well. When western visitors with knowledge of and access to twentieth-century western medicine arrive at the village, the visitors offer pills which cure the sick.

The boy assumes that the western medicines must therefore be far superior to the traditional forest cures known to the tribal healers.

Sometime thereafter, another visitor from the west arrived at the village. This visitor was a woman who had come to study and learn of the healing magic of the forest plants from the tribal shaman. This visitor explained that the wonderful medicine that cured the boy had come directly from the rainforest and that the westerners had only known that the plant had healing properties because the local healers and shamans shared this information.

I stumbled across this while pursuing a reading kick about natural medicines. I didn’t realize that I had reserved a children’s book from the library.

Here’s a stern warning: Use caution before sharing this story with a child. I was dumbfounded to read that the good guys in the story were Christian missionaries who had come to convert the primitive Tirio people to their religion. The missionaries gave the people new clothes, taught them to read and write, translated the Bible into Tirio, and traded metal pots and pans and plastic bottles for captured animals and birds in bamboo cages…and then the missionaries left.

This smacks of a period in time in which “The Great White Father” in Washington destroyed the lives and obliterated the cultures and teachings of indigenous North Americans. When a children’s book (about South America, no less) introduces Christian missionaries into the mix and asserts that they are a positive and possibly life-saving influence, this strikes me as the height of racist and jingoistic horse manure. It certainly calls to mind the historical stain that fanatically evangelical western organized religion has spread across lesser-developed nations.

This book belongs in a Sunday School classroom or a church library. I certainly would not have introduced this to my own children.

My rating: the art merits 10/10; the story and message barely deserve 2.5/10; finished 2/22/2022. (3623).

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story about the value of natural and herbal medicine.

[Rhina M. Finley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful story giving homage to shamans and the healing power of herbal medicine.

[Ethan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned from Shaman's apprentice that a Shaman is a medicine man. Also, the Indians lived in tents and made clothes from cotton plant and used canoes. I learned that an apprentice is a student, and Kamanya was the apprentice to be next Shaman. I like that he turns into the next Shaman, and Shaman's are cool because they are like super guys because they heal. I also learned that these Indians believed in a spirit world where people go when they die. ~Ethan 8/20/2010

[Valleri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Following an ethnobotanist as he discovers shamanistic culture in the Amazon Rainforest is important work. Even more imperative is sustainably preserving the practice of shamanship in order to ensure this wealth of knowledge is not lost forever. Written for children, this vivid picture book invites young minds to explore the rainforest and dream of ways in which we may protect all its wonders and possibilities for future generations of all species.

[Liz Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm always a bit hesitant of books like this one, but when I read it carefully I was less wary. I think you have to be careful how you talk about and represent people living in these communities. I appreciate the inclusion of a female ethnobotanist, instead of a male one (and the story is based on a narrative by Mark Plotkin). The illustrations are beautifully detailed, as with all of Lynne Cherry's work.

[Billy Noecker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lynne Cherry gives us a terrific story of a young indian boy in the rainforest that hopes to one day be a shaman. For many years, the tribe has always known of the healing properties that the wonderful Amazon holds in its midst. The young boy and his tribe learn the wonders as the learn the true value of the rainforest. A great story to incorporate into a science unit for elementary students.

[Rani · Rating 4 out of 5]

#Medicine from #Plants. When the #forest is both a #home and #Pharmacy, little Kamanya learns to become a #shaman. #YoungReaders #PictureBook #BookReview #ChildrensBooks #amreading #ecology #ethnobotany

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this children's version of Plotkin's "Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice." It holds the integrity of his account of adventures in the Amazon, searching for healing plants, but adds a fictional plot line for young readers.

[Cherie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A kids' book - great intro to shamanism, different cultures, plants as medicine. Grades K-2.

[Valerie]

Actually, I saw this read on Reading Rainbow. It reminded me of Townsend's account of totally humiliating a shaman in the Pacific Northwest, because the man didn't know how to treat malaria, a disease which was new to the area at the time (and is rarely found there anymore).

The arrogant attitude of missionaries and 'modern' doctors has resulted in the loss of many potential cures and treatments. Ethnobotanists have tried to make up for this, and collect information before it's lost. This book is a sort of distillation of these conflicts, given a 'local habitation and a name'.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 and a half stars
After teaching about the Rain forest this past school year in more depth and complexity than I ever have before, I am so saddened that we do not appreciate it enough to use it respectfully. The medicinal blessings it produces are but one HUGE reason we need to take care of it and not destroy it. Who knows what cures may never be found for disease if the plants that would provide the medicine are destroyed.

I loved how this book shows how wise the tribal shaman of the rainforest are and gives them the respect they deserve.

[Nancy Mosqueda]

"The Shaman's Apprentice" tells the story of a tribe that adapts to a new life when stangers come in and start to teach them about their religion, customs and teach them to read and write. After they give some of the people pills to cure the malaria, the people lose faith in the Shaman but it is restored with the help of a new stranger with the help of a book. Eventually, the young boy, becomes the Shaman and the strong tradition is carried on.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

sometimes it takes the outside world to show people the value of their own culture and ideals, a young boy questions his path when milaria affects his small amazon village, but an out side visiter shows him and his people that the shaman's value again

[Derrica]

I think that the village has a lot of inspiration there in the village. Out siders try to come & changed the shaman's perspective on some of there beliefs. Just like the real world today you can be doing what work's for you but there will be some one to attempt changing your mind.

[Howard · Rating 2 out of 5]

A detailed description of the hunt for medicinal plants in the rainforest. At the same time, an account of the rapid decimation of the indigenous tribes.

[Children's Permaculture Guild · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deals with the destructive effects of missionary groups on indigenous peoples and their traditional medicine.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are so many plants that can cure you in the wild!!!

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great story, well worth the read.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where does medicine come from? Another tale of a tribe in the rainforest. Very insightful about another way of life and the science in that culture.

[Ted Parsons · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because it was so versitile in using for lesson. It covered a variety of topics such as culture, the environment, and religion. The illustrations were fantastic.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read on Ethnobiology; enjoyable for anyone interested in travel, indigenous cultures, biology, medicine, and shamanism...

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

FANTASTIC

[Aya Chadwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pictures is in so much details. Bright colored Amazonian plants are beautiful.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has very nice illustrations.