Wild Wisdom: Animal Stories of the Southwest - Hardcover

Rae Ann Kumelos

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1940322103 ISBN 13: 9781940322100

Publisher: Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2016

Synopsis

WINNER of the 2017 IPPY Award Bronze Medal for Best Gift Books at the Independent Book Publisher Awards!

Recently selected as one of New Mexico Magazine's 2016 gift giving picks!

Delightful, humorous, and poignant, Wild Wisdom enchants readers with vivid and vibrant animal stories from Native American tradition. Native American animal stories embody a living tradition based on a mutually beneficial relationship with the natural world - one that continues to resonate to this day, and one that many of us long to experience. Animals add love, guidance, and joy to our lives. These uplifting stories will entertain and inspire, while celebrating the beauty and importance of the animal/human relationship. From Coyote telling us what not to do by doing it, to Hummingbird s healing hum, to Turkey saving Thanksgiving for everyone but himself, Wild Wisdom captures the connection we all have, regardless of who we are or where we live, to Native animal wisdom of the Southwest.

About this title

About the Author:

Rae Ann Kumelos is of Greek and Scotch-Irish heritage, meaning myth is in her DNA. Rae Ann holds a PhD in Mythology and Masters degrees in Mythology and Literature. She is a college professor of you guessed it Mythology in her home state of California. Her specialty is animals in myth, literature, and life, and she has written for a variety of publications, most often about her furred, feathered, and finned friends. Her Voice of the Animal radio show is broadcast on XM Satellite Radio.
Jan Taylor has been a professional painter for thirty-five years. Best known for her wildlife paintings, equine art, and pet portraiture, she grew up in the Colorado Rockies where she developed a love for nature and all creatures. After receiving her fine arts and illustration degree from Northern Arizona University and working as a cowgirl, Jan settled in Cave Creek, Arizona, where she never lacks inspiration thanks to her many amazing rescued animals.

Review:

This is a great book to share with younger readers--even though it is marketed as inspirational--and older readers alike. It also would make a great gift for animal and nature lovers, as well. -- --Arizona Daily Sun

Myth reveals the transcendent truth in Native American narratives often seemingly clothed as children's stories. Both delightful and profound those stories serve to engage child and adult alike with the genius of pure imagination triggered by an awareness of the immediate environment and the animals who coexist with humans in it. By merging today's spoken vernacular with a poetic idiom common to Native American oral discourse and adding her own unique familiarity with both, Rae Ann Kumelos brings that principle onto the printed page triumphantly in this sparkling volume where animal wisdom does indeed emerge. --Paul Zolbrod, author of Diné Bahane': The Navajo Creation Story

A sort of Aesop's Fables gone native, Wild Wisdom relies on a variety of scholars to retell traditional stories from the Diné, Zuni, Apache, Tohono O'odham, Sioux, and other cultures. An impatient coyote creates the night sky's confusion of stars. The allure of a blue raven's egg turns the Zuni people into desert dwellers. Hummingbirds gathers nectar to heal fellow birds. Combined with strong artwork, each one makes for a fine bedtime story. --New Mexico Magazine

About this edition

• Publisher: Rio Nuevo Publishers
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1940322103
• ISBN 13: 9781940322100
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 104
• Illustrator: Jan Taylor