Deborah Nourse Lattimore's world of stories - using books to learn about myths, countries and cultures - includes related article

Instructor, March, 1994 by Leslie Cefali

Use Deborah Nourse Lattimore's books as part of a unit on myths or to help children learn more about the countries and cultures they're studying. The author's meticulous research and detailed illustrations make these books as insightful as they are fun to read.

PUNGA: GODDESS OF UGLY

This book, set in New Zealand, is based on a Maori folktale. Two sisters, Kiri and Maraweia, are taught the songs and stories of the Maori people by their grandmother, who hopes the girls will earn the moko, or chin tattoo, that will signify their coming of age. However, when Maraweia dances the haka, instead of sticking out her tongue fiercely and proudly, she acts silly and wags her tongue foolishly. In the end, Kiri helps Maraweia act more respectfully and they both finally earn the moko.

* To show how difficult it must be for the Maori to dance solemnly while sticking out their tongues, try this activity: Ask students to test if they can curl their tongues. Explain that tongue curling is an inherited trait. Make a simple graph depicting the tongue-curling capacities of your class. No doubt kids will find it difficult to carry out this assignment without giggling!

* Kiri and Maraweia earn the moko when they finally prove they have come of age. Brainstorm a list of coming-of-age traditions from other cultures, including our own. Why are maturity rituals important in so many cultures?

THE WINGED CAT

When Waha, the Egyptian High Priest, drowns the sacred cat and lies about it, he and his coconspirator must travel to the Netherworld to be judged by the gods.

* In the book, Bast the cat is wrapped in linen and laid in a tomb containing food and drink. Have students explore the meaning behind these rituals. What burial rituals do we observe in this society?

* On the endpapers of the book, the reader will find the phonetic sounds for the Egyptian hieroglyphics. Have your students use these symbols to write their names.

THE DRAGON'S ROBE

When the keeper of the royal dragon shrine of China is too ill to perform his duties, two strangers promise to help him. The strangers turn out to be evildoers intent on the destruction of the Empire. A young weaver uses her determination and wit to prevent the strangers from carrying out their plot.

* Note the symbolic language the author uses throughout the story to describe the Rain Dragon's anger and the drought it brings (air churned into a simmering wind; rice fields burned to dust; like firecrackers they exploded). When the River Dragon finally appears, the language of the story shifts to include many images of water. Ask your students to point out examples of this imagery.

* The dragon, thought to represent good luck, is an important symbol in Chinese culture. As a class, make a list of dragon characteristics described in this story. How does the author's portrayal of this creature emphasize the respect the Chinese have for it? In what ways has the author demonstrated the dragon's strength and power?

DEBORAH NOURSE LATTIMORE

Is it any wonder Deborah Nourse Lattimore became an artist? First of all, she grew up in a house filled with sculptures and paintings from many different cultures. She would spend hours looking at the art, imagining all kinds of stories about each piece. "The sculptures and people in the paintings became my friends. I would talk to them, and pretend we were having adventures," she says. And then there was Deborah's grandmother: "She was the love of my life," says the author. "She'd take me to museums and show me different ways of looking at things." The two of them would sometimes get down on their hands and knees to look at sculptures from different angles. Deborah and her grandmother also drew almost every day. They'd go to meetings of the African Violet Society to draw flowers or to the local county fair to draw pictures of the pumpkins and giant zucchinis.

As a child, Deborah also loved to write. "The first story I had published was in the local newspaper. I was in sixth grade," she says. The name of the story was Egypt from a Camel's Point of View.

Deborah has always been interested in history--she's even been an illustrator for archaeological digs. She also learned to translate Near Eastern languages (like Egyptian) and became interested in hieroglyphics. "I read Egyptian for fun," exclaims the author. "I have hieroglyphic flash cards on the back of my toilet!"

When she's not working, Deborah likes to write short ghost stories, play the cello, and, of course, visit museums!

VALERIE LEWIS is co-owner of Hicklebee's Children's Bookstore in San Jose, California. She also reviews children's books on CBS This Morning.

LESLIE CEFALI, a children's book expert in Valparaiso, Indiana, conducts literature workshops for teachers.