Roadrunner's Dance

by Rudolfo Anaya, David Díaz (Illustrator)

Because Rattlesnake has taken over the road and will not let any of the people or animals in the village use it, Desert Woman enlists the aid of the other animals to create a strange new creature with the necessary tools to overcome Rattlesnake. The bully Snake is defeated when Desert Woman creates Roadrunner, who is able to get the best of Snake through his unique dance.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Cultural

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Rudolfo Anaya lives and breathes the landscape of the Southwest. It is a powerful force, full of magic and myth, integral to his writings. Anaya, however, is a native Hispanic fascinated by cultural crossings unique to the Southwest, a combination of oldSpain and New Spain, of Mexico with Mesoamerica and the anglicizing forces of the twentieth century. Rudolfo Anaya is widely acclaimed as the founder of modern Chicano literature. According to the New York Times, he is the most widely read author in Hispanic communities, and sales of his classic Bless Me, Ultima (1972) have surpassed 360,000, despite the fact that none of his books have been published originally by New York publishing houses. His works are standard texts in Chicano studies and literature courses around the world, and he has done more than perhaps any other single person to promote publication of books by Hispanic authors in this country. With the publication of his novel, Albuquerque (1992),Newsweek has proclaimed him a front-runner in "what is better called not the new multicultural writing, but the new American writing." His most recent volume, published in 1995, is Zia Summer.

"I've always used the technique of the cuento. I am an oral storyteller, but now I do it on the printed page. I think if we were very wise we would use that same tradition in video cassettes, in movies, and on radio."

from
http://www.unm.edu/~wrtgsw/anaya.html
and
http://www.gale.cengage.com/free_reso...

Reviews

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this is not a traditional tale but a new creation of the author, it is a fun porquoi tale describing how the roadrunner was created. As I grew up in the southwest (in Arizona) around roadrunners, I enjoyed this tale. I also really loved the bright illustrations.

[Audrie Estrada · Rating 4 out of 5]

personal reaction: I loved this story. Its a very cute book that has lots of lessons to be brought out and learned. This book is a creation story about the roadrunner. There was a dessert woman who created the roadrunner so that he could keep the rattlesnake from biting people while they were in passing. The roadrunner must first learn to walk so that he can stand up to the rattlesnake, so he says that he has to practice over and over until he can get it right. This is one of the first lessons, practice is hard work but that practice makes perfect and never give up because it pays off! Eventually the roadrunner succeeds in his task.

Use in the classroom:
read aloud: I remember when I was in elementary school we had a month dedicated to bullying and had one of our school counselors come in once a week for that month to talk to us about bullying. We watched videos, did group work, did worksheets, read books, and lots of other things. I would definitely use this book as a lesson on standing up to a bully. Its a really good example I feel like and the children will be able to understand it a little bit easier since it is in story form.
Independent reading: If a child was interested specifically in Latino culture and folk tales this is a good one. It would be for grades 3-5th probably more than any other grades.
Literary elements: Good ones to be taught through this book would be characterization and conflict since they could be pretty fun to weed out.

Other: This is a wonderful picture book because of the illustrations. They are so beautiful and well drawn children will have no problem staying interested in this book. Children might even want to learn more about Latin culture because the illustrations are so interesting.

[Taylor Horvat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal Reaction: I really liked this story by Rudolfo Anaya. It included various lessons throughout the book that explained the creation of the roadrunner as it overcomes the rattlesnake. The lessons in this story are important for students to hear: that practice takes work but to never give up on it. This is a journey where the main character has to practice, practice, practice and eventually the roadrunner stands up to the rattlesnake and succeeds.

Use in the classroom: I would like to use this book as a read aloud in my classroom to share the great lesson with my students to never give up and to stand up to bullies. If my school ever did a lesson or a month talking about bullying, this book would be a great addition to a lesson plan.

Other: The illustrations in this book are vibrant and bright, and they would capture students' attention well.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book taught several interesting lessons within the story. It's a creation story of the roadrunner. The desert woman created him to keep the rattlesnake from biting people while they were in passing. The snake tells everyone he is the kind of the road and when the roadrunner is created, it must first learn to walk. The roadrunner keeps saying it needs practice practice. Which is the first lesson to be learn, that practice takes work but you must never give up. The book is also unique in the illustrations as they look like they were made with stencils and an airbrush. Overall, the story is a great way to use Latino literature, look at different ways things were created and even learn that practic makes perfect!

[Ronald Sopyla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book. The illustrations are excellent, but am troubled that it presents itself as a myth/folktale. It's neither. It's purely a work of literary fiction that seems to use a generalized Native American culture as a backdrop, without any authenticity. In his comments at the back of the book, the author alludes to it as a literary creation, but from the comments posted, it's being received as mythology or folklore. I like the story, but the aspects of it being "fake" mythology are troubling.

[Jacob Moya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here is a summary of the book RoadRunner’s Dance. The book is about a snake that is blocking the road for families to go home or visit neighbors. Then the people of the village go to talk with the Desert Women to help the people. The Desert then created an animal out of clay that would compete with the snake, it was a bird, the roadrunner. The desert women trained the roadrunner to help defeat the snake teaching how to run, jump, etc. Then the roadrunner with all its help defeated the snake so the people could walk in peace. One of the major themes of the book is that working together can achieve anything. The desert women could not defeat the snake by herself, and the roadrunner could not defeat the snake by itself without any training from the desert women. To achieve their goal they work together. The main genre is folklore, as this story also explains how the snake became rattlesnakes. If I were to read this book to children, I could teach them that working together can achieve anything. Also, I could teach them that being mean is never going to work out the way they think it is. This book was a WOW book to me because I was never a folklore type of book reader however this book helped me make the step into the folklore genre. It is interesting to see how the snake became the rattlesnake, it made me wonder what other things were created with folklore books.
Some of the writing craft techniques that the author used in the book, were when the author italicized the words that an animal made for example, when the owl said “Who, who.” It was italicized since the owl makes that noise. Secondly when the snake, “Ssss,” to the villagers. It is italicized since the snake makes that noise. I would consider this book an anti bias book since there is nothing against any person, since we only know the people as villagers. The book were mostly with the animals.

[Monica Jacquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This folktale starts off with Snake who terrifies children and their parents. He claims to be the "king of the road." However, all the animals complain to Desert Woman, she offers solutions but none seem right. The animals continue to think of a way to defeat the snake and offer Desert Woman gifts from each of them to create a new desert animal. and she offers a new animal. Desert Woman creates Roadrunner to defeat Snake. In the tradition of a folktale, this original story explains why rattlesnakes have their rattle and how teamwork/cooperation can save the day. This is such a wonderful story and students can learn about this genre folktales and appreciate diverse cultures and traditions. This book is a great way to explore folktales and recount stories. Students can really take a look at and explore the central message of the story. This book has beautiful pictures it is a great way that students can discuss specific events that can also help them understand the central message along with the illustrations. There are multiple standards you can teach using this book if you wanted to do a unit study. I would recommend this book for grade level 2-3, for the use of finding and understanding central message, understanding how illustrations in the Roadrunner's Dance can contribute to what the author wants to emphasized. (bright colors) An amazing book that can be used for multiple standards.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roadrunner's Dance (Hardcover)
by Rudolfo Anaya
The animals were having a problem with a rattle snake that was blocking the road. So Old Woman made a new creature with their help to change the situation. What they did not expect was that Roadrunner would look so strange. But its is his strange nature that made it that they could have a solution to their problem.

[Aolund · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would be so fun to do in a storytime with accompanying dance moves, or in a group with older children who might be better able to handle the story's length. The story, while not traditional, is inspired by creation stories and has a folktale feel. David Diaz' luminous illustrations add to the story's magical quality.

Themes: "Just so" stories, Latinx culture, desert, dance

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creation Story

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great story to show teamwork.

[Patsy Froneberger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful folktale. The problem in the story depicted a large snake as a bully. The snake made all the villagers go all the way around the village to get to their homes. The road did not belong to the snake but because the snake has the propensity to be boastful and bossy. He ruled, because he made others fearful. The images of the snake were very colorful and oversized. The size actually stirred a little fear in me.
This plot was gripping and would definitely grab the readers attention because the animals were able to talk and participate in the moving of the story. The entire village was desperate to rid themselves of the obnoxious creature.
The desert woman represented magic in the story. She used her magic to designed roadrunner to defeat the bossy snake. She was able to give roadrunner speed and courage, the qualities needed to solve the problem. She was also a character without a name.
I think this book would be a great read for second or third graders. This book could be used to teach a lesson about standing up to a bully, ways to develop courage and you could also use this book to determine how the story changed from beginning, middle and end. I gave this book five stars because it has so many different lessons that can be taught from this one book.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations in this book are magnificent. They engage my 9 and 10 year old students much more than the average picture book., evoking great discussions. This is a child-friendly introduction to first nation creationist beliefs, and would be a great addition to any unit on folklore. I teach it year after year, and I continue to look forward to it each time. For teaching purposes, there is challenging vocabulary in addition to cross curricular connections to Social Studies and Science.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous glowing art in this animal origin story Chicano-First Nation traditions. Deals with each animal having a place and a gift as well as handling bullies. The construction of the roadrunner would make a fun flannelboard.

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creationist story of who to get the Rattlesnake from controlling the road all the villagers need to move around on. Cute and lots of details about roadrunners. Kids loved it and the roadrunner. Used it to check on a subject I was interested in writing about.

[Elisabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rudolfo Anaya has created his own creation story in this gorgeous picture book illustrated by David Diaz. I loved his take on Desert Woman and the other animals and how they created Roadrunner to keep the roads safe from Rattlesnake. The pictures in this picture book are exceptional.