Review #6: The Great Ball Game: A Muskogee Story

Bibliography

Bruchac, Joseph.  1994.  THE GREAT BALL GAME:  A MUSKOGEE STORY.  Ill. by Susan L. Roth.  New York:  Dial.  ISBN 0803715404

Plot Summary

Long ago the Birds and the Animals chose to settle an argument with a game of stickball.  After being left out by both teams, Bat is finally accepted by the Animals and uses his unique abilities to win.  The defeated Birds were forced to leave the country for half of each year.

Analysis

This is a retelling of a Muskogee (or Creek) Indian Nation legend, which Bruchac heard from a Muskogee elder named Louis Littlecoon Oliver.  It is a “pour quoi” tale that explains why birds fly south for the winter and why bats fly at dusk.  The ball game is a southern variant of lacrosse.

Roth’s art is all done in colorful paper collages.  Dark paper silhouettes illustrate the latter part of the story, which takes place in the evening.  The artist used papers, some handmade, collected from a number of different countries.  The rich textures make the reader want to touch the pages.

The story is reminiscent of the fable of “The Bat, the Birds, and the Beasts” attributed to Aesop, but here the Bat actually joins one side and becomes a hero.

Review Excerpts

“Bruchac’s retelling is elegant and graceful.”  Horn Book

“The helter-skelter compositions distract readers from what is otherwise an entertaining tale.”  School Library Journal

Connections

Talk about bats—how even though they have wings like birds, they are really mammals like bears and dogs.

Other books based on Native American stories:

Bruchac, Joseph and Ross, Gayle.  THE STORY OF THE MILKY WAY:  A CHEROKEE TALE.  ISBN 0803717377

Davkovich, Lydia.  THE POLAR BEAR SON:  AN INUIT TALE.  0395975670