Why the Tides Ebb and Flow

by Joan Chase Bowden, Marc Brown (Illustrator)

In this folktale explaining why the sea has tides, an old woman threatens to pull the rock from the hole in the ocean floor.

Genres: Picture Books

40 pages, Paperback

First published September 12, 1979

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This little story is one interpretation of how the ocean tides came to be. I liked the black and white, drawn illustrations because they were quite stark and full of motion, stressing the danger in this morality tale. Although it was not said where the story takes place, the characters appear to be of African descent, which was refreshing to see in such a meaningful storyline. Once you have read all the way to the surprise ending, you will not only understand tides, but also why dog's noses, girl's elbows, and boy's backsides are always cold. A nice rumination on our human need to explain things.

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun folk tale to explain natural phenomena. Emotive illustrations. I’d like to know more about the origin of the story.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is assigned 398 by LOC as traditional literature. It would be considered a pourquoi - a story that explains the origins of natural traits. There is little to no attribution of sources: the end flap merely states that the author’s “acquaintance with the many tales of Why the Tides Ebb and Flow . . . stirred her to tell this one.” Printed on tan paper, with a border of brown and black, the line drawings evoke images from long ago. This is the story of a woman who asks the Sky Spirit for a rock to shelter her from the weather. Not thinking, the Sky Spirit tells her to take one. The one she takes is the rock from the hole in the bottom of the sea. The Sky Spirit sends a dog, a girl and and a young man to try to fill the hole, but ultimately must allow the old woman to take it twice a day to put in her garden. Hence, the tides.

[Evan · Rating 2 out of 5]

In this folktale, an old woman asks the Sky Spirit for a house to protect her from the wind, rain & sun but he dallies. She takes her stew pot on the high seas until she finds the hole at the bottom of the sea and pulls it up, uncorking the drain that starts sucking everything down a whirlpool. When the Sky Spirit sends down Little Dog, Young Woman & Young Man, one at a time, to plug up the hole, they all fail. But the old woman convinces Sky Spirit that she'll put the rock back if only she can keep Little Dog, Young Woman & Young Man (who will build her the hut she seeks from the start).

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book really seems much too complex for the young child for whom it was written; it includes some action and a fear factor to grasp the child's attention, but it does not have enough real charisma to keep a child engaged. The illustration is well done with the use of Black characters, but the lack of color in the pictures does not lend itself to grasping the attention of the modern child who is used to an overstimulated environment.

[Whole And · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book to introduce the concept of low tide/high tide through a clever tale of a stubborn woman and a busy sky spirit.

The sketches and page design are simple and beautiful, inspiring us to sketch our way through an afternoon.

We horoughly enjoyed this tale, chuckled along the way and then went off to learn about tides.

[Julie Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why the tides ebb and flow by Joan Chase Bowden
Audio book about a witch who lived in nature and she called upon a spirit asking for a hut.
She asked for other things after days, to get out of the weather. She wanted a rock that was the plug to the sea.
Silly children's story, cute.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

[Paul Hankins]

This title would work very nicely as an example of an oral tradition story brought to print by Joan Chase Bowden. As an explanation for how high and low tides are created, this one would work well with HOW SUN AND MOON CAME TO BE IN THE SKY and other stories set to explain natural phenomena.