 |
Long ago, cave dwellers enjoyed sitting around a fire at night, cooking, eating, and telling stories about the day's events. One such night, the leader, Head, tells of meeting a new being in the meadow outside—a large hairy fellow with unusually large feet. This creature, Stinkfoot, smells terrible, and people throw up when they get near him. Head enlists volunteers to take Stinkfoot to the washing pool and scrub him down. Surprisingly, after this takes place, Stinkfoot's black fur turns blond, and "he no longer smelled at all." He even becomes an asset to the cavers, his huge feet repelling a purple people eater. Hearing the cavers' concern about snapdragons that bite passersby, Stinkfoot asks his friend the musk ox to eat all the snapdragons, the ox's favorite food.
Next, the cavers encounter a huge, frightening creature breathing fire and smoke. But when the beast, which they call a dragon, breathes fire onto an apple tree, it roasts all the apples. These are a treat for the group. A caver named Groat discovers an animal with long hair on its neck and tail. It is gentle and takes food from the caver's hand. He's named Horse. Groat can ride Horse, even guiding him in the direction he wants to go. Together they discover other men. But strangely, these men do not live in a cave. They live in a large house made of wood where they can gather at a fire in the evenings and with a hole in the roof for smoke to blow out. Groat's report encourages his fellow cavers to build such a house. Horse helps by hauling the trees that the cavers cut down with their stone axes. Once they have their new home, they know they will always want to live there.
Greenwood, who has created other books designed for curious children and their interested teachers and parents, is a retired sales representative who has worked in publishing. This engaging work is particularly intended to evoke lively speculation about how humanity's ancient ancestors survived and thrived. In some cases, he also provides direct answers, such as here when he interjects that the huge "dragon" seen and feared by the cavers was probably "a dinosaur that had managed to survive after all the other dinosaurs have died." He also depicts his characters humanly embellishing the story of this fearsome creature by adding the element of its fiery breath.
In each instance of new discoveries, the cavers are progressing, changing, and learning about new ways to live by making good use of the nearby resources. The befriending and training of Horse is an excellent demonstration of the possible cooperation between people and animals. The house-dwelling people certainly represent a great leap toward a more civilized life for the former cavers, showing the potential of mutual understanding and the willingness to follow new examples. Parents and teachers reading these stories can use these readily accessible concepts to teach their young audience, who will also be enthralled by the colorful illustrations.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review