Moon Was Tired of Walking on Air
Long a devotee of Joseph Campbell, Will found in these myths a primordial energy that he felt challenged to capture visually. Will realized that these myths would be totally unfamiliar to children. Upon reading the works of Russell Freedman, he had reflected that often an author or illustrator introduces the child to a culture or a piece of history for the very first time. He felt strongly that the illustrations should convey the myths in a way intelligible to children. He wanted "to make contemporary stories that are thousands of years old." Finding inspiration in the spirituality of Gauguin's Polynesian motifs, Will used a flat primitive style with dark hues and simple strokes to depict a world struggling to find a form. The characters in these tales are truly born of earth. They seem to emerge from physical matter much as a sculptured figure emerges from a block of stone. They are heavily physical yet embody a simple spirit of life. They are earthen in color, in contrast to the cool blues of the moon and waters and the warm yellows and reds of the sun. The only nod to ornament is the occasional use of simple patterns. Unlike Will's previous stories which evoke a strong sense of place, these tales are unrooted; they seem to occur in territory as yet uncharted.
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Moon Was Tired of Walking on Air, a collection of South American Indian creation myths told by Natalia Belting, introduces a folklore strikingly different from that of other cultures.
 Starting From Sketch Inside the Picture Book of Will Hillenbrand
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Reviews From Kirkus Reviews , August 1, 1992: "In the time before this time...'' begins one of these 14 cretitle story tells why Moon made the earth; others explain how rivers were led into their courses by a running fox; how people came to earth from the sky through a hole dug by a giant armadillo; how Rain and Sky gave man food; how the seasons were made from songs of a reed flute; and why Rainbow is bent (his back was hurt in wrestling). Belting's language is spare, rhythmic, and resonant, while Hillenbrand's powerful dark-toned art conveys a sense of primeval mystery. A map locates the ten tribes where the myths originated, but there are no source notes. A handsome, evocative collection, for a somewhat older audience than Joanna Troughton's retellings (How the Birds Changed Their Feathers; How Night Came; both 1986); a good supplement to Hamilton's In the Beginning (1988), which includes no South American material. (Folklore/Picture book. 7+) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. From Horn Book: In simple language that lends itself to reading aloud, Belting retells fourteen origin myths from ten different South-American tribes, whose areas of residence are shown on a map at the beginning. The oil and oil pastel illustrations display a memorable combination of fantasy elements, with stocky, sometimes monumental Native-American figures. Despite a few design problems, the collection is worthwhile. -- Copyright © 1993 The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved.
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