Tuesday, February 3, 2009

The Mighty Hunter



Finished The Mighty Hunter by Berta and Elmer Hader. It won the Caldecott Honor Medal in 1944. It is the story of a small Native American boy who wishes to be known as a great hunter. One day instead of going to school he takes his bow and his arrows and goes hunting. The first creature he sees is a rat. He takes aim, but the rat tells him he is too small for a mighty hunter to shoot and takes him to where the boy will find a prairie dog. Again the boy aims, but the prairie dog tells him he knows where the mighty hunter can find a rabbit. This continues with each animal recommending a larger target, until finally the little mighty hunter takes aim at a grizzly bear with two cubs. She chides him, then roars so fiercely that the mighty hunter drops his bow and arrows and runs all the way to the school house.

This book is simple with very warmly painted illustrations. The Haders won the Caldecott Medal in 1949 for their book The Big Snow.

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