Goble, Paul. 1990. Iktomi and the ducks. Illustrated by Paul Goble. New York: Orchard Books. ISBN: 0-531-05883-2.
Iktomi and the ducks is a trickster tale often found in Native American tribes from the plains, such as the Sioux. He includes references about where he got the story. He includes background information on Iktomi and trickster tales in general. There are three basic texts of the story: the black (large) text is "story"; the gray italics font represents reader participation; the small black font are the thoughts of Iktomi.
The basic story is that Iktomi sets out to trick a flock of ducks on a pond (lake or whatever). He is hungry and wants to eat them; so he sets out to outsmart them. In the process of his outsmarting the ducks, he is outsmarted by the coyote.
The illustrations are bright. (Black, green, yellow, red, pink, purple, blue.) Inktomi appears in traditional Native American dress. (He is all dressed up for a ceremony.) Most cultural details come from the "thoughts" of Iktomi. On the first page, for example, each element of his dress is labeled. (Although why anyone would be thinking about each element of clothing their wearing�I don't know.) Many elements of the story are humorous�or are made humorous.
I had a hard time getting into this story. This was my least favorite of the books I've read. Perhaps it was the structure of the story, but I felt it was very stilted. I felt the story�or the language used to tell the story�was lacking in quality. Many of the jokes were trying too hard�perhaps it is because I'm an adult. I don't know for sure. But there was something about this book that didn't quite work for me.
Culture Four focuses on Native American literature for children and young adults. Readings for this culture include: