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A Man Called Raven
A contemporary story about a mysterious man who teaches two Native American boys the meaning of respect for nature offers a tribute to the wisdom of the raven and a positive reminder that we can all learn from nature.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 1997
116 people want to read
About the author
Richard Van Camp
54 books313 followersA Dogrib (Tlicho) Dene from Fort Smith, NWT, Richard Van Camp is an internationally renowned storyteller and best-selling author. He is the author of the novel, The Lesser Blessed, a collection of short stories, Angel Wing Splash Pattern, and two children’s books with Cree artist, George Littlechild. His new baby book: Welcome Song for Baby: A Lullaby for Newborns is the official selection of the Books for BC Babies program and is being given to every newborn baby in British Columbia in 2008. His new novel, Blessing Wendy, will be released in the fall of 2009 through Orca Book Publishers. Richard was awarded Storyteller of the Year for both Canada and the US by the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers. You can visit Richard at his website: www.richardvancamp.org.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 27, 2021
Caught in the act of tormenting a raven, brothers Toby and Chris are confronted by one very large, angry man, who demands to know where they live and who their parents are. Taking this accuser home with them, the brothers are made to listen to his story about another individual, long ago, who was cruel to ravens. This man, who imagined he had no friends, and who therefore offered his friendship to no one, was eventually transformed into a raven himself, only then discovering that he had a place among his people. It was then, in raven form, that this Raven Man decided he could help the people, guiding them through dangerous situations, and occasionally assuming his human shape again, when most needed. Ashamed now of their behavior, the boys escort their guest to the door, realizing as he departs in a rush of wings that they had been entertaining the Raven Man himself as a guest...
Dogrib author Richard Van Camp and Plains Cree illustrator George Littlechild, who subsequently collaborated on What's the Most Beautiful Thing You Know About Horses? , made their debut as a team here, in A Man Called Raven. A powerful and moving book, one which pairs a perceptive and thought-provoking tale with gorgeously colorful folk-art illustrations, it addresses a number of important themes, from the correct way for humans to interact with animals, to the importance of community to both human and animal welfare. There are clear parallels between the story of Raven Man and that of the two boys. Both are isolated from their culture and community - the former by his own belief that he is unwanted, the latter by the fact (as stated in the narrative) that their family circumstances have kept them from living on the land, as their people would have traditionally done. It is only through reconnecting with their community, by realizing that they have a place, and a worth, that they are led to stop their destructive and cruel behavior. I thought that this was an interesting and ultimately true formulation, even for people who do not belong to a traditional culture. After all, it often seems as if bullying behavior, whether the target is animal or human, arises from a deep sense of unworthiness in the bully. I appreciated that the story here addressed what is very disturbing behavior in a constructive and thoughtful way, attempting to get to the root of the problem, in the psyche of the wrongdoer, rather than offering a simple "be nice" message. Recommended to more advanced picture-book readers looking for stories about the importance of treating our animal friends humanely, and with respect, as well as to those seeking children's books with a Native American/First Nations cultural context.
Dogrib author Richard Van Camp and Plains Cree illustrator George Littlechild, who subsequently collaborated on What's the Most Beautiful Thing You Know About Horses? , made their debut as a team here, in A Man Called Raven. A powerful and moving book, one which pairs a perceptive and thought-provoking tale with gorgeously colorful folk-art illustrations, it addresses a number of important themes, from the correct way for humans to interact with animals, to the importance of community to both human and animal welfare. There are clear parallels between the story of Raven Man and that of the two boys. Both are isolated from their culture and community - the former by his own belief that he is unwanted, the latter by the fact (as stated in the narrative) that their family circumstances have kept them from living on the land, as their people would have traditionally done. It is only through reconnecting with their community, by realizing that they have a place, and a worth, that they are led to stop their destructive and cruel behavior. I thought that this was an interesting and ultimately true formulation, even for people who do not belong to a traditional culture. After all, it often seems as if bullying behavior, whether the target is animal or human, arises from a deep sense of unworthiness in the bully. I appreciated that the story here addressed what is very disturbing behavior in a constructive and thoughtful way, attempting to get to the root of the problem, in the psyche of the wrongdoer, rather than offering a simple "be nice" message. Recommended to more advanced picture-book readers looking for stories about the importance of treating our animal friends humanely, and with respect, as well as to those seeking children's books with a Native American/First Nations cultural context.
November 3, 2019
An important picture book about showing showing kindness, respect, reverence and compassion to all God's creatures.
May 26, 2019
I don't know. Something about this story just rubs me the wrong way. Maybe it's because the resolution is facile and unrealistic. Maybe it's because I don't like the illustrations. In any case, I'm struggling to find much that I like about this one.
The book starts out with an appalling display of animal cruelty by two little boys. They're beating a raven with broken hockey sticks, and the poor thing can't get away because they've broken its wing. I'm sorry, but I doubt telling a couple of budding psychopaths a story is going to alter the trajectory of their lives. Because that's what happens: a man suddenly shows up and gets the boys to take him to their house, where he smokes and drinks coffee and tells the boys a story about a man who got turned into a raven after abusing ravens.
Like I said, I find it difficult to believe that kids who are already that callous and have that little empathy would be swayed from committing further acts of animal cruelty. At the very least, they have terrible problem-solving skills. (Their excuse for beating up the bird is because it gets into their garbage. Hello?! Bird-proof your garbage cans. It's not that hard.)
The illustrations aren't to my taste, but your mileage may vary. I'm not a fan of the rough, colourful style on display here.
Overall, this was kind of a disappointment. I've enjoyed some of Richard Van Camp's other books, but those have been for much younger readers. A Man Called Raven is probably aimed at older children, although I don't know if I'd want to give it to any child because of the bad example the two boys set. (We never really find out if the boys change their ways. They say they understand, but... then again, they lied about beating the bird when they were caught. So I don't know if I'd trust them.)
The book starts out with an appalling display of animal cruelty by two little boys. They're beating a raven with broken hockey sticks, and the poor thing can't get away because they've broken its wing. I'm sorry, but I doubt telling a couple of budding psychopaths a story is going to alter the trajectory of their lives. Because that's what happens: a man suddenly shows up and gets the boys to take him to their house, where he smokes and drinks coffee and tells the boys a story about a man who got turned into a raven after abusing ravens.
Like I said, I find it difficult to believe that kids who are already that callous and have that little empathy would be swayed from committing further acts of animal cruelty. At the very least, they have terrible problem-solving skills. (Their excuse for beating up the bird is because it gets into their garbage. Hello?! Bird-proof your garbage cans. It's not that hard.)
The illustrations aren't to my taste, but your mileage may vary. I'm not a fan of the rough, colourful style on display here.
Overall, this was kind of a disappointment. I've enjoyed some of Richard Van Camp's other books, but those have been for much younger readers. A Man Called Raven is probably aimed at older children, although I don't know if I'd want to give it to any child because of the bad example the two boys set. (We never really find out if the boys change their ways. They say they understand, but... then again, they lied about beating the bird when they were caught. So I don't know if I'd trust them.)
December 1, 2025
What a beautiful book. The bold, nineties, illustrations give this story its otherworldly quality while it still remains rooted in teachings. The children don’t see the value of another’s life, many children don’t, they must learn and raven is here to teach. Raven often learns the hard way, so it is in pace to see a more direct approach h when Raven recognizes itself in others. I wish there was one more page with a bit of reflection where we understand that mom too knows raven or that raven saw the onus act in kindness, but I understand the wonderful magic realism of just picking off the page with only feathers left behind.
January 17, 2025
(copied from my book review blog: Patricia's Particularity)
Chris and Toby are hitting a raven with their hockey sticks. The raven manges to get away from the two boys. When they turn around n angry man is standing before them asking them why they were hurting the Raven. The angry man has the boys lead them to their parents. After speaking with their mother, the angry man tells the boys a story about man who liked to hurt ravens. This man was old and mean, who didn’t have any friends, and took joy in hurting ravens with blunt arrows. One rave, after he hurt it, began to follow the man wherever he went. To get away from the raven, he slept and began to live in the tree tops. One day he slipped and fell but before he could hit the ground he turned into a raven and started to fly. Even though he turned into a raven, he was still mean. In an attempt to spy on all those in the village he found that they were holding a funeral for him and that everyone turned up, not to laugh but to pay their respects to him - everyone loved him, to his surprise. From then on man who turned into a raven watched over his people. He even helped his people once from freezing in a snowstorms. After the angry man told them this story the boys understood and saw him leave, as a Raven.
The characters of this picture book are developed through their actions - the boys learn a lesson, as well as the old mean man who changed into a Raven. I loved the theme of this book: treat everyone and everything with respect, including animals. I was actually surprised at the ending of this picture book, the man ended up being the Raven. I found myself liking the author’s writing style as well as the beautiful illustrations.
Chris and Toby are hitting a raven with their hockey sticks. The raven manges to get away from the two boys. When they turn around n angry man is standing before them asking them why they were hurting the Raven. The angry man has the boys lead them to their parents. After speaking with their mother, the angry man tells the boys a story about man who liked to hurt ravens. This man was old and mean, who didn’t have any friends, and took joy in hurting ravens with blunt arrows. One rave, after he hurt it, began to follow the man wherever he went. To get away from the raven, he slept and began to live in the tree tops. One day he slipped and fell but before he could hit the ground he turned into a raven and started to fly. Even though he turned into a raven, he was still mean. In an attempt to spy on all those in the village he found that they were holding a funeral for him and that everyone turned up, not to laugh but to pay their respects to him - everyone loved him, to his surprise. From then on man who turned into a raven watched over his people. He even helped his people once from freezing in a snowstorms. After the angry man told them this story the boys understood and saw him leave, as a Raven.
The characters of this picture book are developed through their actions - the boys learn a lesson, as well as the old mean man who changed into a Raven. I loved the theme of this book: treat everyone and everything with respect, including animals. I was actually surprised at the ending of this picture book, the man ended up being the Raven. I found myself liking the author’s writing style as well as the beautiful illustrations.
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March 21, 2023This book is about two kids who find a Raven in their garage and try to hurt it because they think Ravens just cause messes in the streets. A Native American man walks by the kids and tells them the history of Ravens and how important they are. I could use this book in my class library to represent different cultures that my students may not be familiar with.
November 10, 2022
I just can't believe the kids would take the message to heart... it doesn't exactly fit, and they're clearly pretty far gone already and need more intervention than one story. But the art is amazing, and the existence of the book is itself important. Don't miss the (brief) back matter.
August 14, 2019
This is an authentic indigenous collaboration. Van Camp and Littlechild are both award winners and this story holistically delivers a tale of anti-bullying. Art was sloppy but good.
December 24, 2021
A good teaching story for all.
Want to read
May 9, 2022(I'm going to have to go to Carthage in Kenosha to view this book)
March 5, 2024
Two boys mistreating a raven are shown a better way. A plot twist leaves the book indelibly etched on the reader's mind.
September 17, 2025
Beautiful story about transformation. Only love begets love.
November 29, 2010
Chris and Toby are hitting a raven with their hockey sticks. The raven manges to get away from the two boys. When they turn around n angry man is standing before them asking them why they were hurting the Raven. The angry man has the boys lead them to their parents. After speaking with their mother, the angry man tells the boys a story about man who liked to hurt ravens. This man was old and mean, who didn’t have any friends, and took joy in hurting ravens with blunt arrows. One rave, after he hurt it, began to follow the man wherever he went. To get away from the raven, he slept and began to live in the tree tops. One day he slipped and fell but before he could hit the ground he turned into a raven and started to fly. Even though he turned into a raven, he was still mean. In an attempt to spy on all those in the village he found that they were holding a funeral for him and that everyone turned up, not to laugh but to pay their respects to him - everyone loved him, to his surprise. From then on man who turned into a raven watched over his people. He even helped his people once from freezing in a snowstorms. After the angry man told them this story the boys understood and saw him leave, as a Raven.
The characters of this picture book are developed through their actions - the boys learn a lesson, as well as the old mean man who changed into a Raven. I loved the theme of this book: treat everyone and everything with respect, including animals. I was actually surprised at the ending of this picture book, the man ended up being the Raven. I found myself liking the author’s writing style as well as the beautiful illustrations.
The characters of this picture book are developed through their actions - the boys learn a lesson, as well as the old mean man who changed into a Raven. I loved the theme of this book: treat everyone and everything with respect, including animals. I was actually surprised at the ending of this picture book, the man ended up being the Raven. I found myself liking the author’s writing style as well as the beautiful illustrations.
January 31, 2025
Even though this is a book I’ve read to my young adult children, it was a pleasure to open it again for now 6 y/o who was fascinated about the idea of shape-shifting. It’s a great cultural tale that is explained very dramatically and purposefully for the young ones to hear. It was very pleasing for me to read again too. Great story Richard Van Camp! And wonderful artwork by George Littlechild.
November 7, 2016
Beautiful!
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April 2, 2017I wasn't particularly grabbed by this story or the illustrations.
December 1, 2017
Silas liked the illustrations in this book
I enjoyed the style of story telling used.
I enjoyed the style of story telling used.
December 18, 2018
My students loved this book! We read it as a read aloud and when it was revealed in the end that the mysterious storyteller who appeared was the man who was the raven they all screamed with excitement.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews