Murdo's story : a legend from northern Manitoba

Summary: A Legend from Northern Manitoba. Murdo Scribe (1920-1983), a Swampy Cree educator from Norway House, Manitoba, wrote this award-winning children's picture book. The author notes in the introduction that his concern for the traditional storytelling knowledge of the Elders promoted him to record this important story about the seasons and the origin of the Big Dipper constellation. Long before humans were on the Earth, certain animals and birds controlled the summer. Frog and Crane guarded summer and kept other animals and birds in a permanent state of winter. The story tells how the winter animals and birds cooperated in planning a mission to steal summer. They are successful and leave with the bag containing summer. On the way back to their territory, Fisher is forced to take the bag and flee. He is shot by an arrow that takes him and the secret bag high into the sky. All the animals are left without the secret bag that contains summer. So the summer and winter animals discuss the problem and decide to equally divide winter and summer. They agree to share six months of winter and six months of summer. The story is dramatically illustrated with crisp black and white images that resemble woodcuts. This story contains details from the original oral narratives that are often omitted when authors retell the legend for younger readers.