Authors : Harriet Rohmer, Octavio Chow, and Morris Vidaure, Illustrator : Joe Sam
Preschool - 2nd Grade

Los cazadores invisibles - The Invisible Hunters

Los cazadores invisibles - The Invisible Hunters, Softcover, Bilingual, Book, Harriet Rohmer, Octavio Chow, and Morris Vidaure, Joe Sam, Preschool - 2nd Grade, 9780892391097, $7.95  Out of Print  :(

Coretta Scott King Honor Book
American Library Association Notable Book
Parent's Choice Approved Book
Cooperative Children's Book Center Choice
Recommended by the Elementary School Library Collection

Late one Saturday afternoon, three brothers leave their village to hunt wari, the wild pig their people depend on for food. While hunting they discover a magical vine that can make them invisible—but they will only enjoy this power if they promise never to sell the meat they hunt, and never to hunt with guns, only with sticks. All is well until European traders arrive to buy the precious wari meat—and the brothers forget the promises they made so long ago. This is a Miskito version of the classic folk theme of how the very thing that gives you power can turn against you if not respected and used properly. The Invisible Hunters is about caring for our environment and our community, and about not losing sight of what is important.

Listen to Vienna Rose read The Invisible Hunters to you.  A marvelous example of the magical encounter between a child and books that we wish for all children.

"Dramatic and straightforward, it tells what happens when greed for traders' money overcomes three hunters' duty to their people. Illustrated in collage, brilliantly colored, with a sense of depth and movement."
     —Kirkus Reviews

"A good choice. The narrative is accessible with details faithful to the indigenous lore. The theme is relevant in any culture."
     —Publishers Weekly

"The Invisible Hunters will delight younger readers and older readers as well. Joe Sam.'s vivid contemporary illustrations delight all ages."
     —San Francisco Chronicle

School Library Journal : Grade 3-6 A fascinating bilingual (English-Spanish) retelling of the legend of the Miskito hunters of Nicaragua, this is also the story of the effects on indigenous peoples when strangers from outside cultures come to give advice and change traditional tribal customs. Three hunters discover a magic vine which can make them invisible. The hunters learn from the Dar (the magic vine) that if they promise to hunt only with sticks and never sell the meat, but give it to their people, they can carry pieces of the Dar and become temporarily invisible. When they no longer hold the Dar, they are visible again. This works well until two strangers arrive with gifts and want to buy the meat. The three hunters are influenced by the strangers and in time their people do not have sufficient food. One day they become invisible and cannot become visible again, having broken their promise to the Dar. Some of the Miskito people say the invisible hunters still wander by the river, calling ``Dar, Dar, Dar.'' Striking primitive illustrations in deep contrasting colors and collage dramatize the changes in the hunters. This is one of very few books for children on the folklore of this Native American tribe of Central America.

Bilingual Collection Red Books :