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English Titles

		All the Stars in the Sky C.J. Taylor Toronto: Tundra Books, 2006. 42 p. ISBN 0887767591 Ages 10 to 12
All the Stars in the Sky Source

In All the Stars in the Sky, award-winning Mohawk author and artist C.J. Taylor introduces stories from seven First Nations. In each story, a human or an animal encounters some heavenly creature, which leads to the creation of stars or other celestial bodies. The Milky Way, according to the Salish tradition, is the spirit of a sacred snow goose who was killed by an unwary hunter. The Ojibwa tale of Little Mouse and the Magic Circles introduces White Hawk, a young man attracted to the youngest of the 12 star sisters. An Onondaga tale depicts the Pleiades constellation as dancing children.

These contacts lead to transformation, discovery and also to precious gifts such as the knowledge of fire or the use of clay pots by humans, as described in a Cherokee story. Sometimes, humans are wiser to resist a tempting invitation, such as the one from the Moon in the Inuit tale or in the Blackfoot story, where the gift of magic leggings made of fire could not be contained.

C.J. Taylor's gouache artwork depicts legendary characters and powerful portraits set in beautiful natural landscapes. She sets her paintings in a universe that exists somewhere between the legendary and the natural worlds.

–JP